Old Town New
by vespertine dreams
Summary: Jack and Ianto return to find a lot of changes and a few old faces. Follows on from -Eternity-. Mild slash- Jack/Ianto. Post COE, so minor spoilers. The rating has had be raised for chapters 9 and 11.
1. Old Town New

This follows on from my previous fic, Eternity. Probably best to read that one first.

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Old Town New

The moment they had set foot back on Earth, the insistent bleeping had begun from Jack's wristband. Jack smiled; he knew exactly what it was and who had sent it. They had been gone for almost five years by Earth timelines but he knew that they would be waiting. He and Ianto had felt it was time to return, both feeling that they'd had enough time to work through the awful events of those five days, where Jack had lost his grandson and, from his decision, his daughter, and Ianto had lost his life.

Jack had given that back to him, though, no matter how different from his old life it was. Ianto was immortal now, or as near to it as Jack was, and that knowledge that he had all the time in the world had let him live in ways he had never dared before. Jack had shown him new planets, had quite literally given him the stars, but now it was time to return to where they belonged. There were people here that they had left behind.

"Ready?" Jack asked, checking the wristband's screen again.

Ianto nodded, taking the hand that Jack offered as they walked through the streets of Cardiff. This was such a change from where he had been yesterday, a noisy, crowded transport ship on which they had hitched a ride home.

The little blue dot on the wristband was still flashing on the tiny street map, showing them their path, until eventually they stopped in front of an office building.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Ianto asked, eyeing the modern glass and steel structure.

Jack nodded, pushing open the door to go inside. There were no advertisements or publicity for what the building housed, just a smiling young woman sitting behind a reception desk that blocked their way, making it impossible for anyone to get by without her knowledge.

"Good morning, gentlemen," she said. "My name is Alison. How may I help you?"

Jack frowned at her. If this really was the place then he was used to just letting himself in. Ianto, however, smiled back.

"Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones, Torchwood."

Her smile never faltered but her eyes widened a little in surprise. "I do beg your pardon, sirs." She picked up the phone and made a quick call before typing something into her computer. She handed them each a security swipe-card. "You need lift number two, just back there. The cards will give you full access."

Ianto nodded, thanking her and heading for the lift. As soon as he swiped his card in the reader, the lift set off, automatically stopping at the first floor.

"JACK! IANTO!"

Ianto turned just in time to see Gwen come running and launch herself at them, dragging each of them in turn into a rib-cracking hug. She grabbed them both by the hand and started walking in the direction she'd come from.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you're back. It is so good to see you both; after that last time I wasn't sure if you were ever coming back."

She led them into a large lounge-like room, with huge windows almost entirely covering one wall. As they walked in, both Jack and Ianto had to stop and do a double-take.

"Hello Jack. Eye-candy."

Jack glanced at Gwen. "What is he doing here?"

Captain John Hart sighed, looking offended. "I work here, thank you very much."

"I needed someone with alien knowledge," Gwen told them with a shrug of her shoulders. "You were gone and John offered."

"'Told you I was planning on sticking around on this planet for a while. I came back here looking for you," John told them. "All I found was a bloody big hole in the ground. Gwen found me and explained what had happened. I was sorry to hear about your boy, Jack."

Before Jack could say any more, the doors at the end of the corridor opened and Rhys came through, carrying a dark-haired little girl. Ianto grinned and looked to Gwen.

"Is she-?"

Gwen nodded, beaming proudly. "Our daughter; we called her Isabella."

As Isabella began struggling, Rhys set her down on the ground. She looked up at Jack and Ianto for a moment before a smile lit her little face.

"Uncle John!"

When she ran to him, he smiled, stooping down to pick her up. "Hey, Princess."

Isabella giggled.

Jack laughed, seeing his amazement reflected in Ianto's face. "I can't believe it, Gwen. You have managed the one thing in the universe that no one else ever did," he said. "You've domesticated him."

John scowled at him, opening his mouth to retort but a stern look from Gwen made him rethink. Instead, he turned Isabella in his arms so that he could fire a rude hand-gesture from behind her back.

Half an hour later, Jack and Ianto followed an excited Gwen around the new Torchwood facility. The whole place was state of the art, unlike the damp and dim Hub. Despite the clean airy spaces and modern technology, Ianto found himself missing the old place. Sure it was damp and kind of gloomy but it was Torchwood. Jack slid an arm around his waist and he knew that it wasn't just him.

"I miss the shadows; everything here is so bright," Ianto said.

"Fun places, shadows," Jack said in a low voice, smirking, before turning serious. "It just doesn't seem like home; the old place always did."

Ianto nodded. "We'll get used to it, I suppose. That is, if we're staying."

"Do you want to?"

It was something that Ianto had thought a lot about recently. When they'd come back, neither had said whether they wanted to make this a quick visit or stay for longer. They just hadn't discussed it.

"Yeah, I do. Not forever, but for a while."

Jack looked relieved. "I'm glad you said that. I'd have had to resort to bribery otherwise."

Knowing what Jack's bribery usually consisted of, Ianto grinned. "You still could if you wanted."

Jack laughed, his expression turning innocent as Gwen looked back over her shoulder at them.

"And this is the medical bay. We had it fitted with everything we needed- we even managed to recreate a few of the alien technologies from the old place, with a little help from Lizzy, of course." Gwen pointed through the glass doors to the two people in the medi-bay, a young blonde woman and a tall, dark haired man who looked as though he should be on the front cover of GQ rather than in a Doctor's coat.

"Nice," Jack told her appraisingly.

He heard footsteps behind them and then John's voice announced, rather huffily, "If I've got a hands-off order on the staff then so has he."

Gwen sighed. "He doesn't need to be told, John. The only reason you ever were is because of that incident with Archie." She turned to Jack and Ianto. "Archie was our original medic," she explained, then glared at John. "He quit."

John looked slightly embarrassed, which made Jack all the more intrigued. Not a lot got under the skin of John Hart and it damn sure took a lot to embarrass him.

"For the record, I don't need telling," he said, his arm tightening around Ianto's waist. "I've got everything I want right here."

John contemplated that for a second or two before he smirked. "I don't suppose you'd consider sharing, would you, Eye-candy?" he asked Ianto.

"Sorry, but he's mine." Ianto told him. "And I have a name, space-boy. Try using it."

"Oooh, he's cute when he gets annoyed, isn't he, Jack?"

Gwen looked between them before her gaze settled on John. "Stop baiting Ianto," she told him. God, it was like having another child around to look after.

Leaving John to tag along, Gwen took them into the medi-bay to introduce the new members of the team.

"I'd like you to meet Doctor Adrian McAuley and Elizabeth Parker. Lizzy is an absolute genius when it comes to technology," Gwen said.

The woman blushed. "Gwen is exaggerating, rather a lot, I'm afraid."

"No, she's not," the man said, holding out his hand for them to shake. "And you would be…?"

"Ianto Jones."

Jack shook his hand as well in turn. "Captain Jack Harkness."

He looked impressed. "I must say that your legend precedes you. We've heard a lot about the two of you."

Ianto smiled. "We deny everything."

Gwen took them around the rest of the facility, down to the cells that had been created in the basement of the building. Both men were impressed; he wasn't sure how she'd managed it but Gwen had done a wonderful job of rebuilding Torchwood from the ashes. They came full circle, back to the lounge on the first floor, where Rhys was waiting. Isabella was sitting with John, a colouring book and a packet of crayons between them.

"So is this it?" Rhys asked. "You two are back?"

Ianto nodded. "Yes. That is, if you want us back."

He had been dreading this moment. After all, he and Jack had left them for years, leaving Gwen to clean up the mess on her own, to start again. Luckily, Gwen simply brushed his doubts away with a wave of her hand.

"Don't be stupid; this is where you belong," she told them. "Besides, we could use the help. It's not always this quiet, you know. You just arrived at a good time."

John looked up from his seat on the floor. "Of course you're staying," he told them, "So sit down and make yourselves comfortable. Come on, if you ask really nicely, me and Isabella will even let you share our crayons, right Princess?"

The little girl looked up at them, her dark eyes assessing them in a very Gwen-like way, before she finally held out a red crayon to Ianto. He took it with a smile, sitting down cross-legged on the floor beside her. Eventually, Jack joined them as well.

Ianto caught Jack's eye and smiled. It was as though they had never left.

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To be continued? Probably…


	2. How Adrian got the Job

Notes--

'Old Town New' is going to continue, but more like the first two series of Torchwood were; separate stories each time but that fit together in the grand scheme of things.

I liked the idea of series two's 'Fragments', showing how the team got recruited, so there could be a couple more like this for the other newcomers as well.

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Ch 2- How Adrian got the job…

Eighteen months earlier-

Dr Adrian McAuley heard the screams from down in the lobby as he got his cup of coffee from the vending machine. Dropping the cardboard cup back onto the shelf of the machine, sloshing the hot liquid over the sides, he turned and ran in that direction. As he passed by the nurses' station, he called for them to page security to head for the lobby. Since he was a casualty doctor, this wasn't the first time he'd seen Saturday night drunks or crazies causing trouble. It was, however, the first time he'd seen anything like the chaos in the lobby.

He stopped dead as he reached the doorway, unable to do anything but stare as the huge red-skinned man hurled one of the security guards across the room as though he was a rag doll. A couple of the braver nurses edged into the room to check on him as he landed.

Wait a minute- _red_ skin? Looking again, Adrian wondered where the man had got his costume from; it was amazing, it looked so realistic. And the contact lenses he wore were cool- silver cat-like eyes. That said, and no matter how cool his costume was, the guy was also tearing up the lobby and security guards alike.

"Stop right there!"

Another security guard rushed him, only this one had obviously learned from his colleague's mistakes and ducked when the man too a swing at him. He dodged under the man's arm, trying to get close enough to get some handcuffs on the him. Noticing this, the guy moved out of his way. The guard fell a moment later as the man threw a chair he had wrenched from the floor at him.

He had to be on something, Adrian thought. It took some serious strength to rip one of those chairs out of the floor. And that gave him an idea.

Leaving the nurses to tend to the injured guards and drag them out of the line of fire, Adrian made a run for the nearest supply cupboard.

When he got back, he called the one security guard who remained standing over to him.

"Keep him busy," Adrian told him. "In that direction, if possible."

As the guard led the man a merry dance, keeping just out of arms reach but annoying him enough to keep his attention, Adrian edged closer. When he was within reach, he stuck the syringe into the man's backside and injected the entire contents.

The man hit the floor in a crumpled heap mere seconds before a man and a woman burst through the doors. They had guns in their hands and they headed straight for the man on the floor.

"Gwen Cooper, John Hart," the woman told the surprised onlookers. "Torchwood."

Her companion turned to Adrian, standing and watching with the syringe still in his hand, and smiled. "You did this? Impressive."

Two weeks later, he was offered a job with Torchwood.

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Present day-

"Don't move! Anyone tries to stop me and I shoot her!"

Captain Jack Harkness slowly moved his hand away from the gun at his hip and showed that he wasn't going to try anything.

Their assailant, a dark-haired man in his late twenties, nodded. He tightened his grip on Gwen, one arm around her neck, making sure she couldn't escape, and waved the gun at the others. She looked across at Jack with frightened eyes.

"In there. Sit down, hands behind your backs," he ordered, indicating to the office on his left, then stopped Ianto. "Not you. Tie them up." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of plastic restraints, the kind used by police.

"Let Gwen go," Ianto asked. "Please."

"You volunteering to take her place?"

"Ianto, no!" Jack said, but Ianto ignored him.

"Yes."

The man made Gwen sit down as well, waiting for Ianto to pull the last of the ties tight around her wrists before pulling him to his feet.

"Let's go."

As the office door closed, Captain John Hart glanced at Jack.

"Eye-candy's got more guts than I thought," he commented.

"You know that calling him that irritates the hell out of him, right?" Jack glared at John. "If he gets hurt, I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Hey, that's not fair."

"Not fair? You're the one who picked up that nut-job in the first place," Jack snapped back.

John huffed, annoyed. "How was I to know? He was cute!"

"Only you could pick up a guy in a bar and have him turn out to be a psycho," Jack retorted. "God, you have the worst taste in men."

John flashed him sardonic smile. "Well, I picked you up, didn't I?"

"Did not. If I remember, it was _me_ who picked _you_ up."

Gwen sighed loudly and, when that little hint didn't work, she kicked John on the ankle. Hard.

"Ow! What was that for?" he demanded.

"You're acting like a couple of children," she said.

"But why kick me?"

Gwen gave Jack a kick as well, ignoring the indignation on his face. "Happy now? Now if you two can stop bickering for two minutes, we really need to get out of these damn restraints and go help Ianto."

John shuffled a little and then lifted his arms, rubbing his wrists where the restraints had been. As Gwen stared in disbelief, Jack reached over to her to remove hers as well.

"How did you do that?"

Jack and John shared a smile and something in that look told her that she really didn't want to know. A second later, the door was open and they peered out into the hallway, checking for their captor.

"Clear," John announced, sauntering out despite Gwen's hissed demand that he stay put. "You gotta admit," he said to Jack. "We do make a good team."

Reluctantly, Jack nodded, following John out into the hall. They headed for what John jokingly referred to as the Batcave, the central control room of the new Torchwood. From that one room, they had surveillance over the entire building, inside and out, and access to every computer system. It would be easier to track where Ianto had been taken from here than chasing them all over the building.

A few moments later, they heard footsteps and then Gwen caught them up. She didn't look happy, Jack thought. When they got into the Batcave and locked the reinforced door, he found that his original assessment had been correct.

"I told you to wait," she said, jabbing a finger at John's chest as she reprimanded him. "One of these days, you're going to get yourself, or one of us, killed by just wandering into things without bothering to think first."

"The corridor was clear," Jack pointed out calmly.

Gwen turned to him. "Yes, well, it was my call to make. You forget that you gave up your right to give the orders when you vanished for five sodding years."

Jack held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. Whatever. You want the responsibility of making sure everyone is safe, of making all of the decisions, then it's yours. Right now, however, I'm going to get Ianto back," he told her. "So either start making some of these decision or stop bitching about it and let us get on with it."

John looked between them and quietly sidled away, out of the firing line. He was a little surprised when Gwen nodded, backing down.

"OK," she said, giving him a look that said quite clearly that they were going to discuss this later. "John, you're the one who spent any time with this guy; who is he? What does he want?"

John smiled guiltily. "I didn't really ask too many questions," he said. "We weren't exactly concerned with talking, ya'know?"

She raised a dark brow in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that you don't even know this guy's name and you brought him into Torchwood?"

"I know his name," John retorted, then the bravado faltered slightly as he admitted, "It's Loz."

Jack grinned. "That's it? Just 'Loz'?"

"Oh, shut up!"

Gwen glared at the pair of them again. "Right, let's forget the whole name thing, shall we? Why did you bring him into Torchwood?"

"Look, I just happened to mention where I worked and he asked if he could see the place," John told her. "I never took him near anything classified, just the tourist route."

He turned his attention back to the monitors on the wall. He'd been flipping through the feeds and had found the one showing where their uninvited guest and Ianto were. Both Jack and Gwen leaned in, watching.

"He's heading for the medi-bay," Gwen said, frowning. "What the hell is he looking for?"

"Maybe it's _who_ he's looking for," Jack mused.

--------

Ianto walked obediently a few steps ahead of the loon with a gun pressed to his back.

"What exactly do you want?" he asked after a while. "What am I supposed to call you?"

"Call me Loz; that's what John knows me as," the man replied. "The rest, you don't need to know." When Ianto paused, he received another jab with the gun. "Keep moving or I pull the trigger."

Ianto walked again. Thanks to Jack, he knew that the bullet wouldn't kill him, at least not permanently. He had, however, seen Jack when he came back to life and it always looked as though it hurt like hell and he had no intention of experiencing that if he could help it. So far, he'd managed five years without either him or Jack dying; the deal that Jack had made was that, since their lifelines were now linked, if one of them died then so did the other. If Loz shot him now, Jack would feel it as well and he just couldn't let that happen.

"I only want to end this as quick as possible and without anyone getting hurt," Ianto told him. "If you tell me what you want, I can help you."

For a long time there was silence and then Loz spoke.

"I've been hired to collect someone and return them to my employer," he said. "I'm just doing my job."

"Who?" Ianto asked. "And why?"

When Loz didn't answer right away, Ianto thought that he'd pushed too far and that was the end of the co-operation. He had hoped to keep the man talking, or at least being civil, until the others rolled to the rescue. Oh, he was sure they'd come, it was just a matter of how long it took.

Loz paused, reaching into his pocket and taking out a small rectangular object. It looked like a mobile phone but when he pressed his thumb to it, a 3D hologramatic image appeared in the air above it. The image was of the new Torchwood medic, Adrian.

"What did he do?"

"He killed my employer's brother."

Ianto couldn't believe that the medic had done any such thing. Admittedly, he hadn't really had much of a chance to get to know Dr McAuley but this sounded a little far fetched.

Suddenly, Loz noticed movement in the medi-bay just ahead and he pushed Ianto forward again. When they entered the room, Adrian looked up and frowned.

"Ianto? Something wrong?" He looked to Loz and smiled. "I didn't know we had guests."

Of course he didn't, Ianto thought. Gwen and the others wouldn't have risked calling or paging to warn him and Lizzie, just in case it accidentally brought them to the attention of Loz. If she'd known he was after Adrian, however, she might have chanced it to get him out of the building.

"You, over there," he told Adrian, shoving Ianto over to join him.

The doctor looked to Ianto. "What's going on?"

Before Ianto could speak, Loz pressed another button on the handheld device, showing a hologram document, written in a language that Ianto and Adrian didn't recognise.

"I have a deportation order for you," he told Adrian. "You are charged with the assault and killing of Brixus-Pa'al of the Liegen Realm."

Ianto frowned at him, ignoring the look of utter confusion on Adrian's face. He moved himself in front of the doctor protectively; he'd been dealing with things such as this for a lot longer than the doctor and besides, no matter how much he wanted to avoid testing it, he was immortal. Unlike Adrian.

"Who are you?" he asked. "I don't see a human being hired as a bounty hunter for the Leigen Realm."

Loz frowned. "You've heard of us," he said, sounding surprised. "I did not know that your Torchwood had contact with my people."

Ianto smiled. "We spent three weeks on one of your trading vessels a few years ago whilst travelling." He eyed Loz curiously. "That's a good disguise; you really do look human."

Loz shrugged his shoulders. "I have been on this planet for two years; I would not have survived so long if I still appeared Liegen."

Adrian peered out from around Ianto. "Look, enough with the chit chat- I haven't done anything wrong. I don't even know what the hell you are talking about."

"One and a half years ago, you killed him," Loz said. "You cannot deny the even took place- there is evidence."

"Show me. Maybe I'll actually know what the hell it is I'm supposed to have done."

Another button on the handheld device and the picture flashed up of a red-skinned man with silver, cat-like eyes. Loz smiled.

"I see in your eves that you remember him now."

Adrian shook his head. "I do, but I didn't kill him. He attacked five people in the hospital I used to work in. He was crazy! All I did was give him a sedative. Look, if you don't believe me, ask Gwen or John. They got there just afterwards and they saw the people and they took him from the hospital. Go ahead, ask."

Loz looked at the file he had again, frowning. There was no mention that this had been anything but a murder, no mention of self-defence. However, one of the traits of his race was the ability to 'see' lies. To his eyes, dishonesty radiated like a light blue aura around the person, and this doctor had no such colouring. He told them to sit, laying the gun on the table beside him, ready, should he need to use it.

"You will tell me what happened," he demanded. "Do not leave any detail out."

Adrian was still talking when Jack, Gwen and John burst into the medi-bay, guns blazing. Ianto had the feeling that Loz was no longer a threat to any of them, looking disturbed by the fact that his employer had left out some rather vital information about his bounty. From what he had said when Adrian told him the kind of sedative he'd used to incapacitate the attacker, it really wasn't his fault. The sedative had caused an adverse reaction in the alien's physiology, stopping his heart rather than sedating him. He had recorded Adrian's testimony and now turned to face the new arrivals, not looking concerned with the guns in the slightest. In fact, he turned to them eagerly.

"John, I require corroboration regarding-"

He didn't get any further before Gwen shot him with a stun-gun.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Ianto told her. "We were doing fine."

She nudged the now unconscious man on the floor, where he had slid off his chair after being stunned.

"So, he's a bounty hunter," she mused. They had listened at the monitors long enough to learn that piece of information, but had come running to the rescue before the explanations began.

Ianto nodded. "Soon to be an unemployed one. I don't think he has any intention of taking Adrian back with him now he knows the truth," he said. "And if the little I know about Liegen is correct, they don't take failure of any kind too well. I should think that the next bounty hunter will be after him."

"So what do we do with him?" Gwen wanted to know after Ianto filled them in on the details. "He's an alien; we can't just let him loose in Cardiff."

"Dump him in a cell for the time being," Jack suggested. "After that, well, keep him here. If he's willing to work for us instead, he could be helpful. Liegen are damn resourceful and their bounty hunters are trained to be the best in the business."

Gwen sighed, realising it would be better to have him working for them than loose on the streets if he was as good as Jack said he was. At least they knew he had some kind of moral code that he worked by, given that he was unwilling to hand Adrian over to his employer now that he knew that it was a mistake. And it might be handy to have someone else with alien knowledge on the team, just in case Jack, Ianto or John decided to go wandering off again.

She'd talk to him as soon as he woke up.

------

End.


	3. A day in the life

Notes--

Sorry this one took so long- between finishing off a submission to a publisher and getting sidetracked with various other fics, it took me a while to get back to this.

Chapter 3- A day in the life

The dark of the night was illuminated by the flashing blue lights of the emergency vehicles as they approached. In the middle of the street, a black four-by-four lay on its side, the passenger side door caved in and the windows shattered. A short distance away, a second vehicle had been abandoned, the drivers' door wide open and its occupant long gone. It hadn't fared much better than the four-by-four, a thin wisp of steam rising up from the wrecked engine compartment and smashed in panel-work. A police car was the first to reach the vehicles, mere seconds before two paramedics got out of the ambulance and ran over to join them. A small crowd of bystanders watched in horrified fascination as one crawled in through the shattered windscreen of the four-by-four, the glass crunching as she stepped on it, to get to the driver. A policeman scanned the other car quickly and, once realising that it was empty, focussed their attention on the occupied one.

"Sir, can you hear me?" The paramedic reached out to press two fingers to the pulse point on her patient's neck and then called back to her colleague. "We need to get him out of here now."

Inside the car, Ianto heard the woman's voice. It sounded as though he was hearing her from underwater, the voices and sounds dull and fuzzy. He could feel the glass from the window pressing into the skin on his cheek but he couldn't muster the strength to move. Every inch of him hurt; even taking a breath felt as though his chest would explode.

The paramedic leaned in as she saw his lips move.

"Say that again, please. I couldn't hear you."

Ianto forced himself to take a breath, letting out an involuntary whimper as a burst of pain shot through him.

"_I'm sorry, Jack._"

The paramedic frowned. "Who's Jack? Is he hurt as well? Sir?"

----------

Two miles away in the Torchwood building, Gwen looked up from the report she was writing as Isabella came running into her office, tears streaming down her face.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Gwen stooped down to pick her daughter up. "Have you hurt yourself? I thought that Uncle John and Uncle Jack were supposed to be looking after you." She frowned. "Well, mummy's going to have a few words with those two when she finds them."

Isabella struggled in her arms, pointing at the door.

"Uncle Jack fell down," Isabella said, sniffling. "He won't get up."

Gwen settled Isabella more firmly in her arms and set off toward the reception room. When she had left, the three of them had been playing a game of pirates, the furniture rearranged into a ship. John and Jack had been enjoying themselves, even going so far as to getting dressed up with pirate hats and plastic swords, just as Isabella had. When she got to the room, however, she saw the desperate look on John's face as he knelt on the floor. Jack lay prone before him, his head resting in John's lap.

"What happened?" Gwen set Isabella in a chair by the door. "Sweetie, you stay there while I go and check on Uncle Jack."

As she crouched beside Jack, Gwen felt someone move next to her and glanced around to see her daughter sitting down, cross-legged, on the floor. She was watching Jack through glistening eyes.

"One minute we were playing and then he just _stopped_," John told her. "He went completely still and then just sort of crumpled to the ground. We thought he was joking around but then when he didn't get up again…"

Gwen couldn't feel his chest moving under her hand and so she tried to find a pulse instead. Still nothing. She had a bad feeling about this.

"He'll come back from it, right?" John pressed. "He doesn't die; he said so himself."

Looking at his anxious face, Gwen caught a rare glimpse of the real John Hart. He had always made his feelings towards Jack clear but in their usual teasing and fighting style. Now she could see just how truly concerned he was, how devastated he was at seeing Jack like this. He had seen Jack die and resurrect before but this was different. Usually, there was an injury of some kind, a reason. This time, there was nothing to see.

A sudden thought struck Gwen. "Oh shi- sugar," she corrected, with a glance at Isabella. "Where's Ianto?"

She could see the moment when John's thoughts caught up with hers. "He went out for pizza a while ago."

Gwen grabbed her mobile and dialled. After a moment of it ringing, it was answered but no one spoke. In the background she could hear police sirens.

"Hello? Who's this?"

A female voice answered. "My name is WPC Mitchell, ma'am. Who am I speaking to?"

"Gwen Cooper. Where is Ianto?" Gwen asked. "The man who this phone belongs to. I know that he's been hurt so just tell me, OK?"

WPC Mitchell paused for a long moment as though trying to work out what to say, or if she should tell Gwen anything at all. Eventually, the WPC passed her over to someone else and Gwen actually felt sorry for her. When she had been with the police, that had been the worst part of the job; having to break the news that something had happened to people's loved ones was awful. There was a whispered conversation that she couldn't hear and then a male voice came onto the line.

"Ma'am, my name is Paul, I'm one of the paramedics on scene. I'm sorry, but your name is not listed as the emergency contact on Mr Jones' ID," he said. "I can't discuss my patient's condition with anyone but his listed contact."

Gwen sighed, whatever sympathy she'd had quickly evaporated. Had she ever been this much of a pain when she had been a WPC and had to talk to people at accident scenes?

"Is the name that you have for his contact Captain Jack Harkness? Well then we have a problem. Mr Harkness is-" Oh, how to explain this one, she thought. Jack was technically dead but she could hardly tell them that, could she? "He is unavailable at the moment and I cannot contact him. Listen, my name is Gwen Cooper. I'm with Torchwood and in that car is Ianto Jones. If you check, you'll find that I am cleared to discuss any medical or legal issues."

She managed to get the name of the hospital that he would be taken to and called for Loz, Lizzie and Adrian. As a doctor, Adrian would be able to get in to see Ianto quicker than she would, and hopefully get him out of the hospital before he rose from the dead and scared the daylights out of the morgue staff.

"John, stay with Jack. I'll call Rhys to get Isabella," Gwen said as she put her coat on. Glancing at her daughter, she muttered, "Lord knows the damaging effect that this is going to have on her."

But Isabella was not to be moved. She refused to leave Jack's side, crawling around to huddle next to John when Gwen tried to take her from the room. Gwen watched as her daughter reached out and clutched Jack's hand.

"She'll be fine here," John said. "Let her see that Jack will wake up from his 'sleep' and that he's OK, in case it happens again."

Gwen, Adrian and Loz marched up to the hospital reception desk as though they had every right to be wherever they wanted, leaving Lizzie with the vehicle. They had found that if they acted as though they owned the place, they tended to get more cooperation.

"We're here to see Mr Ianto Jones," Adrian told the blonde woman at the desk. "He was brought in a short time ago following an auto accident."

She frowned. "If you could just take a seat, I'll call the doctor-"

That would be too late, Gwen thought, shaking her head minutely at him. He glared at the girl; it wasn't her fault that she was following procedure but they didn't have time to be polite.

"I'm Doctor McAuley and I was called with regards to Mr Jones' condition," he snapped. "So, just tell me where he is and I'll find my own way there, OK?"

She nodded, checking the information she had on her computer. "Resuscitation room three."

The three of them set off in that direction, ignoring the woman's protest that Loz and Gwen couldn't go through into the restricted areas.

By the time they reached the room, the emergency team had stopped working on Ianto and had already called time of death. As they went into the room, a doctor turned their way.

"What are you doing in here? Out!"

Adrian again used his credentials to get them in and the doctor reluctantly agreed, explaining that Ianto's injuries had been too severe. He listened as the doctor ran through the list, all the time glad that Ianto wasn't a regular human. Still, even with his healing ability, that must have been agony.

"We will, of course, be required to complete the post mortem before we can confirm an more."

Adrian shook his head, glancing back at Gwen.

"Gwen Cooper, Torchwood," she said, flashing her ID at him. "I'm afraid that I can't let you do that. Mr Jones is to be transported back to our facility as soon as possible, understood?"

It took them a bit of arguing before the doctor gave in, relinquishing his patient reluctantly. They were on their way back to Torchwood within thirty minutes.

--------

Back at the base, John finished getting Jack onto the couch, thinking that it would be more comfortable than the floor when he did wake up. He felt a gentle tug on his sleeve and looked down into Isabella's worried face.

"What's wrong with Uncle Jack?"

John crouched down in front of her to meet her gaze. Huge dark eyes stared back at him, glistening, although he could tell that she was trying not to cry. Pulling her into a hug, he lifted her and sat them both in a chair. For a moment, he wanted to laugh; who would have thought that he'd actually have got so attached to the little girl? He had never imagined himself to be a kid-friendly kind of a guy before arriving here. He genuinely liked the kid, felt a protectiveness toward her that the title of honorary Uncle deserved.

"He's just not very well at the moment," he told her.

"Will he get better?"

John nodded. "If Uncle Jack or Uncle Ianto get hurt, it's not like if you or me do. See, they get better, no matter what's happened, but they need to sleep for a while they do. He'll be fine, Princess, you'll see."

They both jumped in surprise when a phone started ringing from Jack's pocket. A few moments later it stopped, only to begin again and John fished it out. Not good, he thought; the display said 'Rhiannon calling'.

"Hello?"

There was a pause and then a welsh-accented woman's voice spoke. "Who are you? What are you doing with Jack's phone?"

"I'm John Hart," he said. "I work at Torchwood with Jack and Ianto."

"Oh. Look, I want to talk to Jack. Or Gwen Cooper."

This wasn't getting any better. "Jack is unavailable and Gwen isn't here. Maybe I can help you?"

By this time, Rhiannon's voice was getting panicked. "I got a call from the police to say that Ianto had been in an accident but when I got to the hospital they said that Torchwood had come and taken him away. What the hell is going on? I want to know what you people have done with my brother!"

John looked at the door hopefully, wishing that Gwen would come back so that she could talk to Rhiannon. Unfortunately it was just him and Isabella and, tempted as he was, he couldn't give the phone to her.

"Rhiannon, I need you to calm down for me, OK?" he said, stopping her before she could say any more. "Listen, Ianto is fine, I promise you."

"But the doctor said…"

John promised her that Ianto would be around to see her as soon as he could, knowing that she wouldn't believe him unless she could see with her own eyes. He would have told her to come here but since she had no idea that he would rise from what she saw as dead, it was likely to give her a heart attack.

A few minutes later, Isabella let out a squeak of alarm and clutched onto John as Jack's previously still form moved. He took in a deep gasping breath, his eyes wide, as he rolled onto his side.

--------

In the back of the Torchwood van, at present looking like a private ambulance, Gwen shouted for Lizzie, in the driving seat, to stop. Loz looked around from the passenger seat, having never seen this before. Ianto began struggling, trying frantically to get air back into his lungs. His hands clawed at anything he could find, looking for something to ground himself. Gwen and Adrian leaned over him and he grabbed at Gwen's arm, squeezing tightly enough to bruise.

"Ianto, you're OK!" Gwen told him. "Relax, you've seen Jack do this a hundred times. Just calm down."

Eventually, he stopped gasping for breath, the shock wearing off a little and he let Gwen pull him into her arms. Lizzie started driving again.

--------

Isabella climbed up onto the couch and sat down on Jack's legs, looking at him in a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

"See, Princess, I told you he'd be OK," John told her.

Jack smiled at her and held out his arms and she scrambled over him for a hug. "I'm alright, honey. Really."

By the time that Gwen and the others returned, the two men and Isabella were in the kitchen area, getting biscuits and orange juice. Jack would have preferred a beer at this point but alcohol was not allowed in the building seeing as Isabella was frequently there. When he saw them come in, Jack set his glass down and strode over to Ianto, folding him into his arms before kissing him.

"Is it always like that?" Ianto asked a moment later. "It hurt. I knew I was dying and I was so scared and then coming back…" He shuddered involuntarily. "How have you not gone insane, doing that for so many years?"

Jack gave him another light kiss. "You'll get accustomed to it, but it will never be comfortable. I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

Ianto couldn't say that he ever wanted to do that again but he had to remind himself that no matter how it had felt, he had been given his life back. He had another chance. Again.

"I know this isn't the best time," Jack began, "but what happened? Gwen said your car had been run off the road."

Ianto nodded. "A car came through the red light at the crossroads and hit me. He must have been going pretty fast; I hardly had the chance to react. I lost control and hit the kerb. That must have been what made the car roll."

"The police think that the other driver was drunk," Gwen said. "I called an old friend on the way home and he asked around. There were beer bottles in the car. So far, they haven't found the other driver."

Ianto nodded. "I thought I saw someone get out of the car and run but I wasn't sure. It's all a bit hazy, to be perfectly honest."

Making an executive decision, Gwen instructed John and Loz to get the two men to their room.

"You two need some rest," she said. "That means no work, got it?"

It was a sign of how Jack was feeling that he didn't even cast a sarcastic salute her way to accompany the muttering of,

"Yes boss."

John told them about the phone call on the way and Ianto called his sister the minute they were alone in their room. It was an emotional conversation, considering it was the second time that she had been informed of his death, only to have him suddenly reappear, alive and well.

"You're going to have to tell her," Jack said as Ianto slid into bed next to him. He pulled the younger man's body toward his, cuddling them together under the covers.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," Ianto told him. "What's going to happen when she realises that I'm not aging, or like today when I suddenly come back to life? What if she actually saw it happen?"

It had been a huge shock for Rhiannon when she had found out that her brother was alive almost four months after she had been informed that he had been killed in Thames House. That had been an uneasy reunion, made difficult due to the fact that Ianto couldn't explain to her exactly _how_ he could have survived. His sister knew nothing of Torchwood, of the world he had been involved with- aliens and invasions- beyond what had happened with the 456. Without telling her about the Doctor and Jack's situation, it was impossible to explain his own.

Gwen agreed that she should know and so, the following morning, Ianto and Jack climbed out of the black four-by-four on the council estate just outside of Cardiff city centre. The street was quiet at this time of day, with the kids at school and most of the parents at work.

"Ready?" Jack asked.

Ianto reached out to take Jack's hand. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Rhiannon greeted Ianto, firing questions at him as she invited them in, offering them drinks, before sitting down in her lounge. Her gaze then settled on her brother, waiting. He had said on the phone that he had something to talk to her about.

"You look like you did when you were eight and you broke mum's favourite vase and couldn't think how to tell her," she commented. "What is it?"

"Give me a minute, OK," he said. "I don't really know how to say this."

She frowned. "Is this going to be another conversation like the 'I'm sleeping with my boss, and he's a bloke' type of conversation or a 'while I was away for all those years I was really in prison' type?"

Ianto returned her frown. "Prison?"

"Just a thought," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You never did tell me where you'd been."

"Yes, well it's all part of the same story," he told her, taking a deep breath. "It started that day in Thames House…"

-------

End.

10


	4. The Debt

The Debt

Jack was woken from a comfortable sleep, with Ianto's warm body wrapped around his, when a bleeping began from the vicinity of the floor. Ianto stirred too, frowning at the interruption, until it dawned on him that the sound was coming from the pockets of the clothes dropped on the floor earlier that evening. Both of their pagers were sounding, bleeping insistently until they got up to find the devices and check the message. This had been another of Gwen's initiatives; instead of Jack having the only rift activity detector that worked outside of Torchwood- the wristband he wore- she wanted them all to have one. The pagers had been upgraded with a little off-world technology to alert them of any rift spikes that the detector registered as a possible incursion. The alert was then graded from one to five for severity, one being time to arm themselves and warn the police. When Jack read the message, he suddenly became alert.

"It's a three," he said, hurriedly getting dressed and urging Ianto to do the same. Ianto didn't take long but he was still a couple of steps behind Jack when they raced out into the corridor.

"What's going on?" John asked, emerging from the apartment at the end of the corridor. He wandered out still fastening his trousers, his shirt and jacket under one arm.

Ianto noticed Loz slink out into the corridor beside him, fully dressed but still fastening his jacket. He knew that Loz's accommodation was at the opposite side of the building; it appeared that despite Gwen's warnings, John was still getting a lot closer to his colleagues than the rules said he was allowed. Then again, Loz had joined them the opposite way around- he'd started out in John's bed and _then_ been recruited. He smiled, not expecting that argument to fly with Gwen.

By the time they reached the central control room of Torchwood- which John had christened the Batcave- the rift activity detector had a set of co-ordinates displayed. Ianto cross checked them with a map of Cardiff and then called Gwen, telling her the location and that they'd meet her there.

There was a brief squabble for the car keys, which Jack won, leaving John looking annoyed. His scowl deepened when Ianto climbed into the passenger seat.

"Hey, no fair," he grumbled. "How come I have to ride in the back again?"

Ianto leaned out of the door and looked back to John. "Just get in, would you?"

"You know," he began as he climbed into the back of the four-by-four and slammed the door, "I liked it better before you two got back. At least then I was allowed to drive once in a while."

Jack laughed as he sped out of the parking garage. "They let you in control of a car?"

"Yeah, so?"

"If I remember correctly, you had quite a reputation for wrecking ships," Jack pointed out. "How many did you manage to destroy?"

"One, and that wasn't my fault!"

"Yeah, right," Jack baited. "Try three."

When they arrived at the rendezvous site, Ianto and Loz made their way over to where Gwen stood waiting. She looked around, frowning.

"Where's Jack and John?"

Ianto pointed back to the car, where the pair were just getting out. "Probably fighting over the car keys again." When Gwen sighed, he added, "Just be thankful you didn't have to ride with them."

When Gwen split them off into teams to search the surrounding area and take readings, the good-natured squabbles between the pair ceased immediately. Whilst they acted like a couple of warring kids, they never let it interfere with their professionalism on the job. A quick look around showed nothing obvious at the site; there was no sign of the usual flotsam that the rift tended to spill out every so often. Something, however, had triggered the level three alert and they needed to find it.

Two hours later, however, Gwen had admitted defeat and called the search teams back in. They had found a rift trail, easily trackable via the wristbands that Jack and John both wore, but it had led them on a merry chase around the streets before simply vanishing into thin air. She didn't like leaving like this, not knowing what had come through, but there was nothing they could do here. Whatever it was would show up again and then they could retrieve it.

--------

John made himself a mug of coffee and took it back to bed with him. After being woken up at goodness' knows what time to go on a wild goose chase around the city he found that he couldn't go back to sleep when they came home. He took it back to the small lounge in his suite and started flicking through the TV channels, finally settling on an old black and white movie. Suddenly, his wristband started bleeping. He frowned. It had been a long time since it had done that, since before he joined Torchwood, in fact.

So, something had come through the rift, only it hadn't been flotsam. Only another being could have activated that particular frequency, and one he knew at that. The signal stopped abruptly; whoever it was just wanted to let him know they were here. The signal had not been transmitting long enough to track; it was their move now. All he could do was wait.

--------

"Gwen Cooper, Torchwood."

Gwen flashed her I.D at the police constable who had been put in charge of keeping the public back and he nodded, lifting the yellow police tape for her to go underneath. John and Ianto followed Gwen into the bar and looked around at the mess. There were smashed chairs and burned black smudges up the walls, broken bottles and glasses littered the tables and the floor, glass crunching under their feet as they walked.

At the far end of the room, restrained and under guard, the police had the culprits. There was a great deal of arguing going on.

"Tell me again why this is a Torchwood problem?" Ianto asked the officer in charge when he filled them in on what had happened.

He took a plastic evidence bag from a nearby table and handed it to Ianto.

"This," he said simply.

Ianto had to agree that this weapon did not belong on this planet; he had seen similar ones on his travels with Jack. He passed it over to John, who agreed. There was a scuffle across the room as one of the prisoners jumped up and barged her way through the policeman trying to stop her..

She was about six feet tall, with bright red curly hair that spilled down her back almost to her waist and wide green eyes. Her stiletto-heeled boots added a good few inches to her height and the skin-tight leather trousers and vest left very little to the imagination.

John stopped dead when he saw her.

"Verla? What the hell are you doing here?" John asked, a grin on his face as he went to greet her. When he went to kiss her cheek, she rolled her eyes, hauled him closer and kissed him properly.

As Ianto cleared his throat pointedly, John pulled out of her grasp and turned to his colleagues.

"Verla, this is Ianto," he said, indicating to the other man. "And Gwen. Verla is an old friend."

"And I presume she's also the cause of the alert yesterday?" Ianto asked.

John glanced across at the other two women who were with Verla, and the men who stood a short distance away.

"What happened?"

Verla glared at the men. "Those _animals_ thought they had the right to touch me," she said. "I defended my honour."

It took them about half an hour to arrange for Verla and her two friends to be released into their custody, after persuading the men not to press charges. They had come out of the fight worst, the three women kicking their arses rather spectacularly. Between that embarrassing piece of information and the fact that Verla could easily press sexual harassment charges against them, they had decided to forget the whole thing.

They took the three back to Torchwood, collecting up the rather impressive collection of weapons that the police had taken from them as well. John sat in the back of the car with Verla, Ianto driving, whilst Jack came out to collect Gwen and the other two women.

"So what brings you to this neck of the woods?" John asked.

Verla smiled. "I heard you were here- whatever made you set up home here? I mean, it's so…" Her words trailed off as she cast a disdainful glance around at the city surrounding them.

"This place isn't so bad," John told her. "It has its appeals, if you know where to look."

Verla cast a critical eye over him, and then over Ianto before letting out a small laugh. "I can see where you find your appeal. It took you longer than I expected to find me after I signalled you, though- you're slipping, sweetie. I left a trail that you could have followed blindfolded." She smiled wistfully. "That was a fun week, wasn't it?"

Ianto smiled as he glanced in the mirror; there wasn't a lot that could embarrass John but Verla seemed to have managed it. John met his gaze and glared, daring him to say anything. When Ianto kept quiet, he turned back to the woman.

"So, you never did tell me why you were here."

Verla looked to Ianto and then back to John, as though gauging his reaction as to whether or not she could speak in front of him.

"I told you, I came to find you," she said. "Do you remember when you told me that you owed me? Well, I'm calling in that favour."

John sighed; he had the feeling that neither he nor Torchwood were going to like whatever her favour involved.

Back at base, they led Verla back to one of the secure interview rooms, just in case she wasn't a friendly as she was making out to be. Her two friends were led into separate rooms also, being watched over by Adrian and Lizzie. Loz was nowhere to be seen and as soon as Gwen reached their room, Ianto moved himself to stand by the door, just in case.

"I don't want to talk to her," Verla whined, pouting, as she indicated to Gwen. "Now those two," she said, casting an appreciative eye over Jack and Ianto, "they can stay."

John looked across to where she pointed and smiled. "Verla, Gwen is in charge here. Just be nice," he warned.

She frowned. "You're no fun any more."

"Start talking," John told her.

Verla had been a thief when John first met her, one of a band of intergalactic con-women who had become all too comfortable with killing those who stood in the way of their goals. Her associates were not as at ease with her choices and had staged an intervention, packing her off to rehab, where John had been at the time. It had been his second stint in murder rehab (he just didn't see the point, but if he wanted to keep his job with the Time Agency, he didn't have a choice). His time there had brightened greatly at her arrival, although they had both managed to get into a lot more trouble than they would have on their own. Their last escapade had brought John before the officials, facing a failure from rehab and expulsion from the Time Agency. Verla had taken the rap for him and bought herself a short sentence in custody. He had always told her that he would repay the favour and it appeared that now was the time to settle the debt.

"We picked the wrong mark," Verla was telling him. "It should have been a simple con but he worked it out and by then it was too late. Vanna was already in place and we couldn't get to her."

"Since when did Vanna work with you?" John asked. He had met Vanna, Verla's younger sister, a few times but he would never have expected the innocent girl to have taken up the cons with her sister.

"This was her first job. It was her job to get close to the mark, the Magestrix of Liegen Prime."

John saw the others perk up at the mention of Liegen Prime, but they didn't say anything. Vanna hadn't noticed, busy taking a small device from her pocket.

"They executed her, in the city square. My baby sister." Vanna pressed the button on the side of the device and a holographic image appeared. "We came to avenge Vanna, to find her executioner and take his life as he took hers. I know he is here on this world, John; help us to find him and your debt to me is fulfilled."

John didn't know what to say, how to respond. He owed her, that much was true, but it wasn't that simple.

The face looking back at him from the holo-imager was Loz's, his colleague and current bed-mate.

-----------------------

To be continued…


	5. Tested Loyalties

Tested Loyalties

John Hart stared at the holo-image that flickered before him, showing Loz's face. Why, of all the people and beings in the whole damn universe, did it have to be Loz? He knew that the man had been an assassin back on Liegen but it had never occurred to him that someday it might come back to haunt him. Not here. Loz had been working with Torchwood for months now and he was one of the team. John was also rather fond of him, and not just because he was fun in bed.

He looked across the table to Verla. He owed her- he knew he did- but could he simply hand Loz over to her, knowing that he would be killed? That brought him back to the reason Verla wanted him in the first place.

"I need to go and-" What? Talk to Loz? He couldn't exactly tell her that the person she was hunting was probably in the same building as they were right now, "- do something."

John got up and left the room before she could ask any questions. Ianto followed him out, leaving Jack and Gwen to guard Verla.

"You OK?"

John sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Not sure. I can't believe Vanna's dead," he told Ianto.

"Did you know her well?"

"I met her a few times. She was such a sweet kid; she was nearly five years younger than Verla." He pushed himself away from the wall decisively. "I need to talk to Loz; I want to hear what he has to say."

Ianto looked sceptical. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Probably not, but I'm going to talk to him anyway."

In the end, Ianto let him go, going back into the room to let the others know where he'd gone. Gwen was on her phone and glanced up as he entered, indicating for him to stay with Jack whilst she went out to take the call.

"Was John OK?"

Ianto knew that Verla was listening and leaned in to whisper to Jack. "He went to talk to Loz."

---------

John found Loz in his sleeping quarters, the apartment that he had been assigned in the Torchwood building's accommodation floor. For a moment he stood in the doorway, watching as the man moved about the room. Over the past few months, the mental association between Loz the bounty-hunter / assassin who had been sent her to capture Adrian and Loz the Torchwood employee had widened. It was difficult for him to imagine the handsome, blonde man before him as the person who had acted as Vanna's killer. Loz turned and caught sight of him, a smile crossing his features.

"What brings you here?" he asked, coming over to John. When he saw the look on his face, Loz frowned. "What's wrong?"

John came in and closed the door behind him. He sat down on the couch by the window.

"I need to ask you something," he said. "About your past, back on Liegen."

With a sigh, Loz sat down in the chair opposite John. "Why?"

"I just need to know."

Loz nodded. "What do you want to ask?"

"About a year ago, there was a young woman called Vanna, who was executed, by you," John told him, "on charges of confidence trickery against the Liegen Prime. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

Loz was silent for a while, his brow furrowed as he thought back. Eventually, he nodded.

"I remember her. John, what is this about? You knew what I did on my homeworld, so why do you ask now?"

"Because I know her sister. Who, by the way, is currently downstairs in our interview room," John told him. "She told me about Vanna. I've heard her side and now I want to hear it from you."

Loz's version of events was much the same as Verla's, up to a point.

"She was caught drugging the Prime's tea," Loz told him. "When he was tested, it appeared that it had been happening for some time, around the same length of time that the girl, Vanna, had been his guest. She had played a convincing part- the lone traveller, saved from attack by the Prime's guards. He took her in and quickly became infatuated with her." He paused. "Only when the drug was examined did they see why. It acted as an aphrodisiac, designed to make him besotted with her."

John nodded. "I saw Verla use that trick a few times on her marks, usually with the intent to either marry into the money or simply to gain access to what she was really after."

"Vanna was arrested to be tried," Loz continued, "but she was aided into an escape. I was sent after her. My orders were clear; return the woman who had attempted to poison the Prime, and deliver her for punishment. On Liegen, any attempt against the Prime carries an automatic sentence of execution, as treason."

"Thanks," Jon told him, standing up to leave a few minutes later. "Oh, you might want to keep out of sight for a while, until they've gone at least."

John hated this, being torn between two worlds. It used to be so simple; look out for number one and screw the rest. If he could, he would just make a run for it, vanish somewhere into the vastness of the universe and keep out of this whole mess. With a sigh, he realised that he might think about it, but those days were behind him. He was actually enjoying having responsibilities now, even if he wasn't sure who they resided with at this point.

---------

Two days after Torchwood released her, Verla reappeared. He saw her on the security monitors as she paced outside the Torchwood building, occasionally casting pissed-off glares at the receptionist in the lobby. Picking up the phone, he called down to the front desk.

"She won't leave until she speaks to you," Jenny, the young woman on reception told him. "I told her that I couldn't let her in."

John knew she would just start causing a scene if she didn't get what she wanted soon and went down to see her.

"I hear that you know where he is," she said, not even bothering with a 'hello'. She grinned. "I knew that you would be able to find him. Come, tell me and we can go on the hunt together and avenge Vanna."

Damn, she wasn't going to like this, he thought, knowing that she didn't take no for an answer with any degree of grace.

"I can't help you, Verla."

Her eyes narrowed. "What? You owe me, Hart."

"And I am grateful for what you did for me, but I can't help you now." He instinctively reached into his pocket to put his hand on the weapon he carried. "Go home, Verla, and forget about vengeance. Mourn your sister instead."

"And what if I do not leave?" she asked. "What will you do?"

"Then we'll have to make you. Please, I'm asking you to go quietly, as your friend. I'm trying to protect you."

She shook her head. "You are no friend to me."

John stood on the pavement and watched her strut away angrily before going back inside.

---------

For the next week, no one heard or saw anything of her or her associates and John began to believe that she had taken his advice after all. He was currently out on a pain-in-the-ass weevil hunt after one of the damn things had decided to start attacking people on the streets. Why this one, out of the vast numbers still living in the sewers, had decided to come out in the open and turn violent, they didn't know. It happened to some of them, whilst the rest were content to simply keep out of sight in the dark and damp underground tunnels.

"John! On your left!"

John reacted to Gwen's shout and veered off toward the side street, footsteps behind him telling him that Adrian and Loz were keeping pace. Jack's voice came over the earpiece he wore; they had the trap set if they could just drive it toward the alley. He heard a snarl from up ahead and rounded the next corner just as the Weevil tried to double back. When it saw it was being pursued, it once more ran in the direction of the dead end up ahead. John smiled to himself; the Weevils could be vicious buggers at times but they weren't all that smart. It didn't even try to find another way out or think that something could be waiting up ahead for it, it just ran.

They made it to the alley and it was only then that the Weevil worked out that it had nowhere else to go. It decided that doubling back was its best option and turned and ran straight at Adrian. He got off a couple of shots but his aim was wide and the Weevil managed to get hold of him. It tossed him aside with barely any effort, turning its attention to John.

Where the hell was Loz? He was supposed to be backing them up yet he was letting the damn animal escape.

"Loz? Now might be a good time to BLOODY WELL DO SOMETHING!"

"I'm afraid that your little friend isn't in a position to do anything, John, sweetie."

John turned to see Verla and her companions, Verla's weapon was levelled at Loz's forehead. The Weevil, sensing a chance to escape, made a dash for the open street and no one stopped it.

"Drop the guns," she said, glancing at Jack and Gwen who were still holding weapons, "You too, John."

Glancing back at Jack, he did as asked, sending the weapon skittering across the ground.

"You knew where he was all along," she said. "The man who murdered Vanna."

John edged his way around until he stood between Verla and Loz. He could see Jack moving too, as well as Ianto coming up behind Verla's companions. They hadn't seen him yet, but it would be only a matter of time.

"How can you protect him?!" she asked in disbelief. "Move aside!"

John shook his head. "I can't do that. You are the one who dragged Vanna into this, just as you knew that Liegen law stated that treason was punishable by death. You knew that yet you still sent your baby sister in to poison the Prime."

"No! He killed her."

Ianto, Jack and Gwen moved then, tackling the two other women to the ground and getting their weapons away from them. With the scuffle behind her, Verla's attention was momentarily removed from John and Loz.

John made a dive for the gun he had tossed aside earlier.

He looked up just in time to see Verla's finger move to the trigger as she aimed at Loz once more. Without hesitation, he fired.

---------

Three hours later, John sat in the staff room back at Torchwood, an untouched mug of coffee on the table in front of him. He kept seeing the look in Verla's eyes, the shock, the pain, as she died in his arms. When he heard the door open, he looked up, curious. The others had tried a few times to talk to him but he had ignored them until they went away again. Now it seemed that they had pulled out the big guns.

"Uncle John?"

Isabella came across the room to him and climbed up onto the couch next to him, offering the teddy bear she had brought with her.

"You can borrow him if you're sad."

Outside the room, Jack looked back at Gwen and smiled before closing the door silently. They went back to the Batcave where the others were waiting.

"Operation Isabella is a success," Jack reported. "You know, I still can't believe he chose Torchwood over Verla's crew."

Loz nodded. "I can't believe he stood before a loaded weapon for me," he murmured.

"I guess he's not so bad after all," Ianto agreed. Despite their insults and name-calling every now and then, he had come to think of John as a friend. He, like the others, just had not expected John to trade a life among the stars for staying here on Earth. He glanced at the security monitor for the staff room and watched as Isabella laughed at something John said.

Gwen looked around at her new team, so different from five years ago, and smiled. They might be a mixed bunch of ex-assassins, con-men, immortal humans, doctors and computer hackers but she wouldn't trade them for the world.

------

End.


	6. Beware of tall, dark strangers

Beware of tall, dark strangers

The moment that Jack put the coffee mug to his lips, an alarm sounded in Torchwood. Sighing, he put it down again, wondering if he had time to drink it before he had to go and check out the cause of the alarm.

When he saw Gwen go hurrying past the doorway, he knew that he didn't. This was why he hated night shifts; you sit there on watch for hours, reading books and watching dreadful late-night talk shows and the minute you get a decent mug of coffee, the damned alarms go off. It was as though they conspired to ruin his one bit of enjoyment. Kicking his chair back, he went to follow her to the Batcave.

"What's going on?"

Jack turned to see Ianto right behind him, walking fast to catch up with him.

"Not sure. Rift spike, pretty big one at that."

Five minutes later they were driving towards the outskirts of Cardiff, to a public park that seemed to be the source of the rift energy. It was dark, the streets practically deserted, the park even more so. They all pulled torches out from the bag in the back of the car and set off walking, looking for anything that might have come through the rift.

It didn't take long before _it_ found _them_.

"Ianto, behind you!"

Ianto turned to see a large black wolf lunge at him and then Jack's hand on his arm, yanking him out of its path. They overbalanced, landing on the ground, and Ianto thought that the wolf would attack them but it didn't. Bright light shone into its face, making it stop. It looked away, to Gwen, who was holding the torch, and growled. Then it yelped as Jack shot it with a stunning pistol. As it fell over, Ianto saw its eyes; he had never seen green eyes on a wolf before.

----------

"So, this is what came through the rift?" Adrian asked when they brought it back to Torchwood.

He and the others had been waiting for them when they returned, helping them carry the unconscious wolf into one of the holding cells in the basement.

Jack nodded as he locked the door. "This thing has definitely been through the rift; the residual energy on it is off the scale."

"So, what now?"

Jack checked his watch and smiled. "Now, I'm going to bed. Your shift started three minutes ago," he told Adrian, "Which means that you get to wait for that to wake up."

"And what am I meant to do if it does?"

Gwen patted him on the shoulder as she passed by, also on her way out. "There's a stun pistol in the Batcave if it gets too lively. We'll be back at eight am."

Ianto followed Jack upstairs, eager to get some sleep. He tended to be restless when Jack was on night duty, and he had only gone to sleep a couple of hours before the alarms had sounded. Stifling a yawn, he quickly undressed and got back into bed; within moments, he was soundly asleep, curled up to Jack's warm body.

He was awakened again at three am to the sound of someone hammering on the door. The bed shifted as Jack went to answer it and Ianto blinked a couple of times, then smiled.

"Um, Jack?"

Too late; Jack was already at the door, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up as he opened it.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he demanded.

Adrian immediately slapped a hand over his eyes. "There's something you should see; something happened- Could you please put something on, then I can talk to you properly?"

"No, that's what you get for waking me up at such a stupid time," Jack told him. Ianto came out to join them, dressed, and tossed a pair of jeans at Jack.

"He's decent now," Ianto told Adrian. "Or, at least, as decent as he ever gets. So, what's going on?"

Adrian lowered his hand. "I'm not sure. I was only gone for maybe five minutes, no more and when I got back the wolf was gone."

"What?"

By this time, they were all heading down to the cells, Jack still getting dressed as he walked.

"Have you called Gwen about this?" Ianto asked.

Adrian shook his head. "She went home; it would take her a while to get back so I tried to call you two. By the way, your phones are switched off."

"I know, genius," Jack pointed out sarcastically. "I switched them off so we could get some sleep without being interrupted."

They followed Adrian down to the cells and up to the one where the wolf had been.

"Well, that's not quite what I was expecting," Ianto said.

In the centre of the cell, in the same place the wolf had been lying in, was a man. A very naked man. He was awake, huddled up with his arms around his knees. He looked to be in his mid thirties, with dark hair and pale skin. When he looked up at them, realising that he had company, Ianto frowned.

"Green eyes." He saw the two men cast him a confused look. "Look at his eyes- they're exactly the same. Adrian, you said that there was no evidence that the cell had been opened, right?"

"Nothing on the monitors, or the control panel for that cell," Adrian confirmed.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I don't think the wolf escaped."

Adrian looked back into the cell. "You're not suggesting that- No. No way."

They both looked to Jack, waiting for him to back one of them, but he just kept watching the man in the cell.

"Why don't we just ask him?"

----------

As they opened the cell door, the man's eyes widened and he scurried backwards until he was pressed into the corner of the room. Ianto crouched down in the doorway, holding out the blanket he carried.

"Here. I thought you'd feel more comfortable if you could cover up." He threw the blanket to the man, purposefully not going any further into the room. The man just sat there, not moving to retrieve it. "Can you understand me? We're not going to hurt you."

Again, nothing but wide, scared eyes focussed on him.

"It's no use," Ianto told Jack, glancing over his shoulder. "I don't think he can understand."

"I can."

Ianto turned back to the man. "Who are you? Look, I was telling you the truth; we aren't going to hurt you."

The man eyed him for a moment longer and then reached out hesitantly to grab the blanket. Once he had it wrapped around himself, covering himself up, he seemed to gain a little confidence.

"I would ask who you are?" he said. "What is this place?"

Ianto moved into the room then to sit on the bench along the side wall. "This is Torchwood," he said. "And I'm Ianto. That's Jack and Adrian," he added, as the two outside looked around the corner.

"Nicholas Harrington," the man told him. "Am I a prisoner?"

"We aren't sure yet," Ianto informed him. "We need to ask you a few questions first, OK?" Nicholas nodded. "This is going to sound incredibly strange, but we put a wolf in this cell," he continued, watching the man's reactions as he spoke, "and then the next time we checked, you were in here. I can see in your eyes that you know what we're talking about."

Nicholas sighed. "Did I hurt anyone?" he asked. "I swear that I cannot control it, just as I cannot remember what I have done afterward."

Ianto looked back at the others. This man wasn't a danger to them, at least not in this state. Jack nodded and Ianto stood up.

"Come on, Nicholas. We'll find you some clothes and then you need to answer some questions." He held out a hand to help the man up.

When they reached the conference room, with Nicholas now dressed in borrowed jeans and t-shirt, everyone else was already there. Gwen sat next to Lizzie, a laptop on the desk between them, Loz and John seated opposite.

Nicholas was uneasy around all these strangers, but when Ianto re-assured him, he seemed to calm down. So long as Ianto stayed next to him, he was fine.

"I wasn't always like this," Nicholas began. "I had a good life, before, and then it changed."

"How?"

"I was cursed. Maia was beautiful," he said, smiling at the memory. "She came to our village with the travellers, gypsies, and I knew there and then that I would marry her. We courted, and eventually married, but she caught the sickness. When she died, her family blamed me. They said that none of their people had ever caught the sickness like the villagers did, and that it must be because of me. Her grandmother put a curse on me, that I would never be able to find love again, as she said they never would at the loss of her only grandchild."

He looked up at them. "For the three years since I lost my beloved Maia, I have been unable to even befriend another person. I can never explain where I am at nights, or why I lock myself in a room so as to avoid hurting anyone when I change. How can I expect them to trust me when I must keep such a secret from them? If I had the courage, I would have ended my existence years ago but I did not wish to do that to Sarah. She was the only person I saw, but the villagers sensed that something was wrong with me and so even she had to see me in secret."

Gwen stared at him. "This curse, it's what made you change into the wolf we put in the cells?"

Nicholas nodded. "Every time that the moon is full in the sky, I change into that monster." He frowned and eyed the assembled people around the table. "Why do none of you seem surprised by any of what I tell you?"

They all smiled.

"I'm from a planet called Liegen," Loz said.

"I'm immortal," Ianto added.

John waved a 'me next' hand in the air then pointed to himself. "Former Time Agent."

"I was born in the 51st century," Jack told him.

Gwen saw Nicholas look to her and shook her head. "Not me," she told him. "I'm actually from here and now and one hundred percent human. So are Lizzie and Adrian, though we have dealt with our fair share of aliens." A thought struck her, something she had been meaning to ask earlier. "Nicholas, what year is it when you're from?"

"What do you mean, 'when'? It is 1889."

Ianto cast him a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid to say that it isn't any more. You're in 2009. The thing that brought you here moved you forward in time."

"It was strange," Nicholas said. "One moment I was in the fields just outside of the village, and then the air looked wrong. I cannot explain it; it seemed that I was seeing a haze in the air. The wolf did not think it to be a threat, though, and ran straight into it. The next time I woke, I was in the white room and you were all watching me."

"What you saw was a rift in time and space," Ianto told him, "kind of like a doorway between your time and ours."

"So I will have just vanished? What will people think has happened to me?"

Lizzie looked up from her laptop. "Yes. I googled you- I'll explain later- and there was an old newspaper article. It says that your sister reported you missing. She had the police searching and everything but no one ever found trace of you."

"Sarah must have been worried. She was the only one who I saw over these past years; she would bring me food, making sure that I ate enough as I rarely ventured out," Nicholas said. "I will never see her again, will I?"

Lizzie shook her head. "No. According to this, you were never found, which means that you never get home. If it helps, your sister lived a good life. I looked her up as well. She married a man named George Sewell and by the time she passed away, she had four children and seven grandchildren. She named her eldest boy Nicholas."

----------

Though it was not possible for them to control Nicholas's shape-changing any more than he could, at Torchwood they at least had the facilities and resources to ensure that he would not hurt anyone. They could restrain him for the night of and the nights either side of the full moon, sedating him so that the wolf would not panic at being trapped in a cell. For the rest of the time, Nicholas was encouraged to live his life.

Sure, they had just let a werewolf loose in the streets of Cardiff, but he had assured them that he would not try to handle this on his own. He would come in to Torchwood on the nights he was due to change, to do it safely, and make sure that no one else found out his secret. Nicholas had seemed so relieved to simply be able to have part of his life back, to have people who understood and were willing to help him, that he had agreed to all of their conditions immediately. He actually seemed excited to have a job to go to.

They set him up with identity cards and such, making him legal to work, and found him a job and a flat. His employer was informed of his _unique_ qualities and, since he knew all about Torchwood following an accident some ten years ago involving some pissed-off Weevils, he understood. Nicholas was going to spend a week at Torchwood before beginning his job, so that they could try and acclimatise him to 2009, to the technology and customs.

It would take some time for him to adapt to this time, but he would eventually, Ianto knew, as he finally made it to his suite after his shift. Jack was already in bed, though wide awake, when Ianto climbed in beside him a short time later.

"'You still worrying about Nicholas?" he asked.

Jack nodded. He couldn't help it; he knew what it was like to be in a different time, for everything to be strange, and he had been prepared for it. Nicholas had just been dropped here, unknowingly and unwillingly. As Ianto curled up beside him and leaned over for a kiss, Jack smiled.

He had done OK for himself, and so would Nicholas.

------

End.


	7. I want an alien for Christmas

A.N - Chapter 7 is the Christmas episode.

(The title is from 'I want an alien for Christmas' by Fountains of Wayne.)

* * *

I want an alien for Christmas…

It was Christmas Eve and Jack sat back on the couch in Rhiannon's house and smiled. It had been a while since he'd had a real Christmas, the kind where he was with family, eating too much turkey, watching bad movies and generally having fun. This year he had it and he looked up as the man he had to thank for it came in to sit down next to him.

"Rhi wants to know if you're coming for Christmas dinner tomorrow," he said, handing Jack a glass of mulled wine.

"I don't want to intrude," Jack began. "Besides, I thought I'd spend it with John and Loz. Adrian is going to his parents' and Lizzie has invited Nicholas over since he hasn't any family in this time. The guys will be on their own at Torchwood."

Rhiannon came into the room then, carrying her own glass and one for her husband, and sat down on the chair opposite. The kids were at a Christmas Eve party with their friends so that left the adults to have some peace and quiet before the chaos that Christmas day with the kids would bring.

"Bring them along," she told him. "Two more won't hurt and it's not right to leave anyone on their own at Christmas."

Ianto nodded. "What she said. Come on, Jack, it would mean a lot to me if you were here."

"When you put it like that, how can I refuse?"

Rhiannon watched as her brother smiled at Jack, the brief moment passing between them as though they were the only ones in the room. When he had first told her about Jack, some five years earlier, she had never expected it to last. Seeing them together now, however, she was glad that her brother had found someone who made him happy, even if that someone wasn't quite what she had expected.

"So, these friends of yours, don't they have family nearby?" she asked.

Ianto shook his head. "They both work with us at Torchwood. I guess you could say that they're from out of town," he told her.

"How far 'out of town'?"

Ianto's brother-in-law, Johnny, excused himself, going off in search of a snacks, leaving them to talk freely. Although Rhiannon knew all about Torchwood and the kinds of things that they investigated, the rest of the family didn't.

"John is human. He used to work with me in the Time Agency," Jack told her. "Loz is… well, he's a different story."

Ianto saw the look on her face and smiled. "He's from _way_ out of town."

She nodded, not wanting to know more and looking somewhat relieved when the two men didn't volunteer any further information.

Two hours later, when they were watching 'Bad Santa', Jack's phone rang. He smiled guiltily and left the room to answer it, coming rushing back in a few seconds later.

"Can you turn on channel 1?"

Rhiannon frowned but did as he asked and turned over the TV, questions shifting to astonishment when she saw what was on the news broadcast.

'_These incredible pictures were filmed less than ten minutes ago by a Cardiff resident. At present, it is unclear as to whether this is a hoax or indeed, who is behind it- the footage is being verified by experts…'_

"Tell me I didn't just see a flying reindeer on the evening news?" Rhiannon asked her brother.

Ianto sighed and glanced at Jack. "Let me guess- we have to go to work, right?"

"I'll go; you stay here," Jack told him, but Ianto got up anyway and put his coat on.

----------

Gwen was already waiting for them at Torchwood when they arrived, tapping her foot impatiently.

"So?" she demanded as they sat down in the staff room, "any ideas?"

Jack looked over her white knitted jumper, a reindeer with a red pom-pom for a nose on the front, and smiled. "Early Christmas gift?"

"No, Rhys's mum made it for me last year," Gwen told him. "She's staying with us tonight."

"So you had to wear that to make her happy," Jack concluded. "_Very_ fetching," he teased, still smirking.

Gwen glared at him, then turned the glare onto John as he and Loz walked in.

"Don't say a word," she warned, seeing John about to make a smart comment.

He dropped down onto the couch next to Ianto. "I'm hurt. I was just going to say that it looked very festive."

Gwen smiled pleasantly. "Maybe I should ask Rhys' mum to knit you one as well-"

"You wouldn't dare!"

Ianto couldn't help but laugh at the look of horror on John's face and the amusement on everyone else's.

"Before I forget," he told John, "you and Loz are expected at my sister's house for Christmas dinner tomorrow."

Loz looked intrigued. "Christmas dinner? With turkey and cranberries and brussel sprouts? And crackers and those little paper hats like on the television programme we were watching last night?"

Ianto nodded, smiling at his enthusiasm. It was going to be like having another kid around having Loz there on Christmas day.

"I've never seen someone get so excited about brussel sprouts," Gwen said, laughing.

----------

Half an hour later, their investigation into the sighting had hit a dead end. There had been no rift activity at all in the past twenty four hours. Jack had managed to sweet-talk the news station into letting them have access to the video footage but even with the more detailed- and specialist- analysis that they could give it, it still turned up nothing unusual. Well, nothing unusual outside of the fact that it showed a reindeer levitate off the ground and then fly away over the park.

"I don't understand," Gwen muttered, frustrated. "It has to have come through the rift but it hasn't left a trail."

"You know, there's one thing you're all overlooking," John pointed out. "Maybe it didn't come through the rift. Maybe it was here all along."

Jack, Ianto and Gwen turned to stare at him in disbelief and he scowled at them.

"I'm not crazy," he said defensively. "Think about it, through. Most of these Earth myths are based in reality; what if that creature wasn't a hoax or a rift interloper?"

Ianto glanced at Jack, seeing that he was considering it too. Before he had begun working for Torchwood back at Canary Wharfe, and then here in Cardiff, he would have laughed at the idea himself. Now, however…

"So what are we going to do?"

Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "There's nothing we can do. The creature- and I still refuse to call it a reindeer- is gone and we have no way to find it again," she said. "I think if it was going to attack or cause trouble then we would have had reports of it by now, right, Jack?"

"Right," he agreed.

"In that case, I'm going home," Gwen told them.

---------

At nine o'clock the following morning, Rhiannon opened the door to her brother and ushered him and the other three men inside the house. The minute he stepped through the door, Ianto was immediately dragged off by his niece to see the presents she'd unwrapped that morning leaving Jack to do the introductions. Rhiannon showed them through to the lounge where the rest of the family were, and Loz's eyes lit up at the sight of the heavily decorated Christmas tree in the corner. He grinned as he looked around at the rest of the decorations.

"You'll have to excuse him," Jack told Rhiannon, laughing. "It's his first Christmas."

She found them somewhere to sit and within no time they were being bombarded by questions from curious relatives and passed various dishes of festive snacks. Jack rescued Ianto from the kids and followed Rhiannon to the kitchen to help her get coffee and tea for everyone.

"So, are you going to tell me what you found when you rushed away yesterday?" she asked once they were out of earshot. "That thing on the news; what was it?"

Ianto leaned into Jack as he slipped an arm around his waist, and shrugged his shoulders.

"You're not going to tell me it really was a reindeer, are you?" She stared at them in disbelief.

Jack smiled. "Well, it is Christmas, after all."

------

End.


	8. Daddy's Girl

Old Town New

Ch 8- Daddy's girl

Lizzie's fingers flew over the keyboard, tapping out seemingly random combinations as the messages on the screen flashed. Gwen and John watched, standing back after being told to 'quit breathing down her neck' a short time ago.

"How's she doing?" Ianto enquired, wandering over to join them with a mug of coffee in hand.

John just shrugged his shoulders. "Can't tell; it looks like gibberish to me."

If Lizzie heard him, she didn't acknowledge it, her eyes firmly fixed on the screen.

"Give her time," Gwen told them. "She's good."

"Yes, but this is the bloody Ministry of Defence database she's trying to hack into," John pointed out. "They aren't going to let her just waltz in and have a look around."

Lizzie's fingers stilled and she turned to him with a flourish. "You were saying?" she asked, unable to keep the smile from her face.

On the screen, the MoD logo showed, the password box underneath now reading 'Access Granted'. Gwen let out a cheer and hurried over, flashing John a 'told you so' look on her way.

Gwen smiled broadly. "I told you, she's a genius," she said to John and Ianto, causing the young woman to blush.

Leaving her to continue, Gwen led the others away to another computer terminal where they could use the MoD database for the reason Lizzie had hacked it in the first place. Three days ago they had received reports of a UFO over Cardiff. Unfortunately, although the ship had been retrieved, the MoD had stalled them long enough that the occupant had vanished by the time they got there. As they were being unhelpful, Lizzie had offered to find out through less official channels. Reports had described a being, humanoid in shape with almost translucent skin and silver hair but as yet they had been unable to find a trail. It didn't take them long to plant the fake orders that the craft be handed over to Torchwood, but finding the alien was still proving difficult.

Two hours later, Lizzie was still poking about in the MoD files. She hadn't found anything particularly useful and should really have just left again, but her inquisitive nature wouldn't let her just leave. There were so many interesting things in the files- more reported UFO encounters that she would have expected, even though they were merely filed and forgotten- and she couldn't tear herself away.

This was how she had found herself working for Torchwood in the first place. Before this, she had been the editor of an online conspiracy magazine, and that had brought her into contact with Torchwood. At that time, they had still been rebuilding after the 456, and trying to keep a low profile, but Lizzie was nothing if not persistent. It had taken her a while, but she had gathered up files of information about them, each thing making her mind up a little more firmly; _this_ was what she wanted to be doing.

One afternoon, after hours at her computer, she had managed to hack into the Torchwood computer system. She had been so surprised to actually manage it that she had no real plan for when she did. So, taking a chance, she had left her CV as the wallpaper on the monitors along with her job application.

The following morning, Gwen and John turned up at her door.

"Elizabeth Parker? I think we need to have a little chat, don't you?"

From the questions- what had she seen in the files, who had she told, what did she intend to do with the information- Lizzie had thought that her pan had backfired. She had visions of spending the rest of her days in a jail cell, but Gwen and John had simply left without arresting her.

That night, Gwen had offered her a job.

----------

"Lizzie?"

There was no response and so Ianto touched her shoulder lightly, making her jump.

"Sorry," he said, "But your date is here."

Lizzie's face flushed at Ianto's words, and she turned to see Nicholas Harrington standing in the doorway, looking around uneasily.

"I apologise, Elizabeth," he said. "I believe I am early; shall I return when you have finished?"

Lizzie shook her head. "I won't be long," she told him, "And would you please call me Lizzie? Only my father calls me Elizabeth."

Nicholas frowned. "But Lizzie is too… familiar." He saw the look on her face and reluctantly agreed. "As you wish. Lizzie."

She smiled to herself as he came over to see what she was doing. Damn, he's gorgeous, she thought to herself. He was the stereotypical tall, dark, handsome man; in fact, if not for the fact he was a werewolf, and from 1889, he would be the perfect man.

The more she thought about it, however, the werewolf aspect really didn't bother her as much as it probably should; working around aliens and immortals and the craziness of daily life at Torchwood had seen to that.

Nicholas had adapted well to this new life, accepting their help to fit in. He looked every bit the modern man, with his stylish clothes and hair, but when he spoke it was easy to picture him in 1880's period costume. Some aspects of this time period still had not sunk in, however. He was still not comfortable in calling Lizzie anything but Elizabeth, saying that nicknames were too familiar, and it had taken him a while to get used to Jack and Ianto or John and Loz's relationships. Not that he was homophobic, but the fact that they were so open and public about it had caused him some surprise.

He had come in a week ago for the first full moon after his arrival, hesitant. For years, he had lived in fear, hating the wolf that he became as the full moon rose. Even now, he was afraid that he would hurt someone when the change overtook him but Lizzie had assured him that nothing could get out of their cells if they didn't want it to. So, Nicholas had spent the night in an adapted cell, one which was more comfortable than the others, spending the first and last twenty minutes as a human, and the rest as a huge black wolf.

"That is the first time since this curse began that I have been able to relax," he told them afterwards. "Usually I worry about what I have done, whether I hurt anyone whilst I was the wolf."

Lizzie shut down her computer and made sure to cover her tracks out of the MoD's system. She had just made it to the door, putting her coat on as she went, when Gwen's phone rang.

"Lizzie, wait. I'm afraid your plans are going to have to wait a little longer," she said. "That was DI Newsome; it sounds as though they've found our missing alien."

----------

Lizzie climbed out of the car, hurrying to catch up with Gwen, Jack and John. She didn't often accompany them out into the field, but from what the police had said, the more people here, the better. She felt a little guilty at having to abandon Nicholas, but he had assured her that he understood, waiting at Torchwood with Adrian for their return.

Following the police officer who was waiting for them in the car park, they made their way to the members' lounge of the exclusive golf club. The creature had been seen reported by one of the golfers as some 'long-haired freak' who was stalking around the building. When the officer had caught a glimpse of the being, he had immediately called his superiors, who called Torchwood. There had been a time when Torchwood was barely more than a rumour, sweeping in and taking care of the problem under a veil of secrecy. Not any more. People had seen too much over the past few years and Torchwood had gained recognition whether it was wanted or not. Now it was the police who called them in, as they would a forensics team or any other specialist consultants.

"We're not sure what it is," the young officer was telling Gwen, "but we didn't want to get too close. David- PC Markham, I mean- tried and the thing did something. I don't know what it was; it was like it caused an electric shock. That's why we called you; it looked like something you lot would know what to do with."

"Gee, thanks," Gwen muttered.

They all made their way closer, John and Lizzie holding back whilst Jack and Gwen tried to get close enough to see what it was doing. It was hiding in the kitchens of the club's restaurant, the occasional crash from utensils hitting the floor letting them know that it was moving about. Eventually, after having got a look from the doorway, Gwen signalled them over.

"There's another door on the left side of the building, going out to the course," she told them. "Go there. I don't expect it will come that way but just in case, I want you waiting. And make sure you keep the people out of the way too. I can just imagine the lawsuit if one of them got injured."

Jack took a gun from the shoulder holster he wore under his coat, Gwen arming herself also, and looked the two of them over quickly. "Are you carrying, Lizzie?" When she shook her head, Jack took a small, odd-shaped handgun from his pocket and passed it to her. "Take it, just in case."

Lizzie eyed the gun with dismay. She had done the mandatory firearms training and had passed with flying colours, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with the gun in her hand. Nevertheless, she took it, checked the settings to make sure it was set to disarm only, and nodded.

They separated, the pair of them heading around the outside of the building to their post. Outside, a small gathering of onlookers waited, being held away by the police, most of them middle aged men in expensive clothes and smoking expensive cigars, grumbling about having been asked to leave their comfortable chairs and glasses of brandy.

It took them nearly half an hour to secure the creature, finally having to shoot it with a stun-shot from John's gun. The being had ignored any attempts to communicate, resorting to throwing some kind of energy bolts at them whenever they got close. With the exception of a few singed chairs in dining room, everyone had come away unscathed and they loaded the unconscious alien onto a stretcher and into the van.

"Elizabeth?"

Lizzie stopped dead, thinking she had heard wrong. It couldn't be…

"Daddy?"

John watched curiously as the Lizzie he knew morphed into the Elizabeth that her father knew. Gone was the happy smile and bright confidence, replaced by bristling anger, yet John saw the hope in her face.

Her father eyed her with evident disapproval, his gaze finally reaching the gun she held in her hand.

"Is this your doing? Causing all of this fuss and making us stand out here in the cold."

Lizzie frowned. "It was the police who made you leave, and it was for your own safety."

"Safety?" He let out a laugh. "What from? It's just some stupid, layabout kid messing about."

"The thing," she said, pointing to the stretcher being loaded into the van, "isn't some kid. It's dangerous."

Her father rolled his eyes. "'Thing', Elizabeth? Not this again. You always did have an imagination on you, girl, and now you've got those Torchwood people feeding you all that crap about aliens and whatnot. Yes, I know all about what they supposedly do; bunch of hooey if you ask me." He paused, considering her and then shaking his head. "First that ridiculous, so-called 'magazine' and now this. When are you going to stop this foolishness and start acting properly? You were a bright girl; you could have been anything you wanted. A doctor, or a barrister like your cousin Jennifer. She's getting married next month, you know."

Lizzie had heard this so many times before, so why did she let him get to her each time? It wasn't so much the words as the tone he used, sounding as though she was the biggest disappointment in the world.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," she told him, letting her anger take over as it usually did whenever they had these little chats. "It isn't all rubbish, daddy. What we investigate is real, even if you'd rather stick your head in the sand and ignore that fact."

Her father's eyes narrowed. "I will not be spoken to like that, Elizabeth," he warned.

"Lizzie, we need to get moving," John pointed out softly from beside her, noticing that Gwen was ready to leave. Lizzie nodded.

"Elizabeth! I'm talking to you."

Lizzie turned her back on him. "Not now, daddy, please." She had barely gone two steps before she relented and looked back. "We're going out tonight, just for a few drinks. Maybe you'd like to join us?"

----------

Lizzie sat in the passenger seat of the car, staring silently out of the window as they drove back to Torchwood. Jack and Gwen had taken the van containing the alien, leaving John with the car. On any normal day, she would have argued about him driving, usually on the basis that John tended to ignore any general traffic rules- such as speed limits- that he didn't like, but today she said nothing.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as he took a corner on with a squeal of tyres and a flurry of horns honking from the other drivers around them.

She sighed. "I'm OK. I really don't know why I let him get to me. He's just so... so _infuriating_!"

"Just once, I would like him to say he was proud of me," she continued. "Mum never objected to whatever I wanted to do; she said she just wanted me to be happy. But daddy? He just couldn't understand that I wasn't cut out to be a lawyer. I went to law school, you know? I lasted for a whole year before I finally quit. God, I hated every minute of it. I think he saw the magazine as a rebellion, one he hoped I'd grow out of, but I love my job. I just wish he could understand that."

----------

Later that evening, when she had all but given up on the idea of her father turning up, John nudged her and indicated to the door. Lizzie waved him over to their table.

"I'm glad you came."

Her father didn't say anything, merely summoned a waitress over and ordered a scotch on the rocks.

"Daddy, these are my colleagues," she tried again. "This is Gwen, John, Loz, Adrian and Ianto."

There was an uncomfortable silence as neither father nor daughter really knew what to say to each other. Eventually, Gwen began telling him about the funny thing that Isabella had done earlier that day. He even joined in after a while, asking questions and even being polite to the others. Or at least he was until Jack arrived, Nicholas following behind. When Jack leaned down to press a hello-kiss to Ianto's lips, she saw her father's eyes narrow.

"Don't. Please," she said in a low voice.

Before he had a chance to say anything, however, Jack continued. "Look who I found waiting outside," he said to Lizzie, ushering Nicholas past him to sit down and then heading toward the bar for drinks.

Lizzie was surprised at how well the evening went. It was the first time that she and her father had actually managed to sit together and not rehash the same old arguments. He had actually listened when she talked about her job, believing her. He still wasn't happy about her chosen profession, not by a long shot, but there hadn't been any raised voices this time.

He did, however, take the time to take Nicholas aside as they all left. She was unable to hear what he said but, from the look on Nicholas's face, she could guess.

"Daddy, what did you say to him?"

Her father shook his head dismissively. "Just a little man to man chat, that's all. If he wishes to date my daughter…"

"I can't believe this! You promised that you wouldn't do that again," she reminded him. "And who said anything about us dating?"

He sighed. "Please, Elizabeth. We may not see eye to eye but I know you, and I saw the way you looked at him."

"You can't keep trying to run my life for me. I _like_ my life here and who I choose to date is none-"

"Elizabeth, if you would allow me to finish," he interjected, looking slightly offended. "I was going to say that he seems like a nice young man. Very respectful."

_I wonder what you'd say if you knew he was a werewolf,_ she thought, wisely keeping that part unspoken. They had actually been getting along and she had no wish to cause a fight now.

"He is," she told her father. "I'm really glad you came here tonight."

Her father looked around at the others, gathered nearby; just far enough away to give them privacy yet close enough to listen in discreetly.

"I cannot say that I approve of you working there, but I can see that I am not going to change your mind." He climbed into the taxi that was waiting at the kerb, leaning back out to add, "Your mother is expecting you to be at dinner on Sunday. Don't be late."

As the taxi drove away, Lizzie smiled. He may not approve, but at least he was acknowledging that she was part of the family again; she guessed that Torchwood was a step up from the magazine in his eyes. He was never going to stop badgering her about it, but they had managed to talk today without resorting to yelling. It was a start.

Not that it would make any difference, however, as she loved her job. Today, she had had hacked into the MoD and helped capture an alien.

She wondered if cousin Jennifer-the-barrister could beat _that_.

"Not a chance," she murmured, going back to join her friends.

-------

End.


	9. A comedy of Eros

Old Town New

Chapter 9 - A comedy of Eros

"Roses are red

And ready for plucking

It's Valentines day

So let's get…"

Ianto stopped reading the verse on the card, his cheeks turning pink as he glared at Jack.

Gwen choked on the mouthful of coffee she had just taken, having to put her mug down before she spilled it. The look on Ianto's face was priceless. Beside her, Nicholas looked almost as embarrassed as Ianto. Poor guy, she thought; this time period was a huge culture-shock for him. Modern views on modesty and etiquette- especially Jack and John's- still tended to give him that wide-eyed, I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that look.

"What?" Jack asked innocently.

Ianto sighed. "Don't get that look; you know exactly what."

Jack smiled and sauntered over, stooping to brush a kiss over Ianto's lips. "You know, you're cute when you're embarrassed," he murmured. "I also made us reservations at Bella's for tonight. Happy Valentines day."

Ianto's embarrassment dimmed at that. Bella's was his favourite Italian restaurant, and it was damn near impossible to get a reservation there, especially at this time of year.

"Thank you." Now if only he could get Jack to stop embarrassing him, just because he thought it was cute, he'd be perfect.

Half an hour later, as Ianto finished the last of the reports on his desk, the internal alarm system began a low bleeping sound. He frowned, checking the computer in front of him. In his time here, he had never heard that particular alarm sound, except for testing; it meant that the internal sensors had detected a security breech of non-earthly origin.

Jack and Lizzie were out at present, talking to a witness who had called them regarding a creature he claimed to have seen in his back garden. They weren't convinced he had seen anything out of the ordinary but, as it was a slow day so far, they went to check it out anyway. Gwen was somewhere in the building- she would likely be calling him soon to find out what was happening- and so he logged into the security system in order to do a full sweep of the building.

By the time John came into the room, he had already finished the scan, and called Gwen to let her know that he was going to look into it.

"What's going on? Is there an intruder?"

Ianto shook his head. "I have no idea. The sensors are picking something up but it's so faint that I can't get a proper reading." He checked the screen again. "According to this, it's on this floor, near to the staffroom. I was just about to go check it out."

John headed for the safe set into the wall and collected his pulse-gun, tossing one to Ianto as he quickly checked the safety catch and made sure it was charged.

"Let's go find out, shall we?"

They made their way along the corridors, alert for any sign of the threat, but there was nothing.

"I don't get it," Ianto said to non one in particular. "Where the bloody hell is it?"

John looked around again at the empty corridor. "Are you sure this was where it was detected?"

"I _do_ know how to read a computer screen!"

"No need to get testy, eye-candy. Just asking."

Ianto rounded on John. "How many more times do I have to tell you, space-boy? Stop. Calling. Me. Eye-candy!"

----------

From the shadows, she watched the two men argue. They shouldn't be so angry at each other, she thought. She smiled to herself; she could fix that.

----------

"Geez, it's a compliment!"

Ianto flinched and rubbed idly at the back of his neck, the pricking feeling vanishing almost immediately. Why the hell had he been mad at John?

Obviously thinking the same thing, John shrugged his shoulders and, in the same move, advanced on Ianto. Clenching his fists in the lapels of Ianto's suit jacket he dragged him close, their mouths meeting in a bruising kiss. Ianto shifted, turning them without parting their lips, and backed John against the wall. He slipped his hands under John's jacket, pulling their bodies closer as he deepened the kiss.

Adrian rounded the corner just in time to see John's deft fingers removing Ianto's belt, his jacket already abandoned on the floor beside them. The pair were so caught up in their tryst that they never even looked his way. For a second, all he could do was to stare, but then the panic set in.

What the hell was he meant to do about this? Jack was going to be devastated. So was Loz. _Bastards!_ How dare they? And right here in Torchwood, in the open, where anyone could see them.

And now he knew. Why did they have to put him in the middle of this? But now that he knew, he had to tell Jack and Loz, didn't he?

----------

Adrian felt the odd tingling sensation at the back of his neck and rubbed the area thoughtfully. What had he been doing? He had the feeling that there was something he should be doing but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was.

"Adrian? You OK?"

Adrian turned at the sound of the voice and smiled. "I am now that you're here," he purred, reaching out to trail an index finger down Jack's chest as he moved closer.

Jack backed up with each step closer that Adrian took, frowning. "What are you doing?"

"Guess," Adrian teased, smiling as Jack finally ran out of places to back away into, his back coming into contact with the door. "Stop playing hard to get, Jack," he said, and closed the remaining few centimetres between them. One hand on the nape of Jack's neck, Adrian pulled him close and kissed him.

There was a moment where Jack forgot that he was meant to be objecting to this, losing himself in the kiss, before reality hit him once again. Since he couldn't back away, he put both hands to Adrian's chest and pushed him off.

"Oh, so you want to play, do you Jack?"

Jack managed to get out of his grip and sidestepped his next attempt to pull Jack into his arms, holding him at bay.

"Adrian, stop it! Look, I don't know what the hell you're playing at," he said, "but this isn't you. Since when have you been interested in men?"

"But…"

Jack pushed him away again. "Enough." He turned and walked away to go and let Ianto know he was back but he hadn't gone two steps before he heard footsteps behind him.

He sighed. After spending a morning talking to a lonely old man who mistook the neighbours' cat for an alien creature and then wouldn't let them leave until they'd heard his entire life story and drunk endless cups of tea, he really didn't need this. All he wanted was to have some lunch and a bit of quiet time with Ianto but, instead, he walked into weirdness-central.

The third time that Adrian accidentally-on-purpose walked into him, managing to grab Jack's backside as he did so, Jack stopped.

"Stop following me. If I have to handcuff you to a railing to make you stay put, I will."

Adrian grinned cheekily. "Handcuffs?"

Jack just sighed. It wasn't as though Adrian wasn't attractive- if he was being honest, the man was hot- but he was also completely and utterly heterosexual. Which was why Jack was finding it just a little weird that the man was suddenly all over him.

"Have you seen Ianto anywhere?"

Adrian let out a disbelieving 'hmph' sound. "Why? He doesn't deserve you, screwing about with Hart like that."

Jack turned on him, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

"'Saw them before."

Seeing the direction in which Adrian's gaze flicked as he spoke, Jack told him to 'stay' and set off again.

Five minutes later, he wished he hadn't gone looking. He found Ianto sprawled, half-dressed, on the couch in the staffroom, John kneeling before him, head down and bobbing enthusiastically in time to Ianto's happy groans.

Beside him, Adrian looked up at him with huge, sad eyes. "You still want him, don't you? Even after he did this. I would _never_ betray you…"

Jack barged into the room and hauled John up by his hair, ignoring the protests from both men, and shoved him aside.

"Ianto? _Him_," Jack cast a disgusted look at John, "I expect it from but I thought we… Oh, fuck it!"

Gwen appeared in the doorway just in time to see Jack throw John aside. Before she could make any sense of the scene before her, Jack stopped in mid-shout. He rubbed his neck idly as though trying to brush away an invisible irritation as his eyes settled on John.

The other man flinched, expecting to be hit again, but Jack dragged him to his feet and into tight embrace as he kissed him as though their lives depended on it. From the couch, Ianto watched for a while.

"Hey."

At his words, both Jack and John went back to join him, taking him into their tryst.

Adrian just stood in the doorway, looking miserable as he stared at Jack.

----------

From her hiding place, she watched. This was wrong, she thought, studying Adrian. He wasn't happy. Humans were supposed to be happy when they were in love, and he was. She had made him be in love but he was still miserable.

She had to try and fix it…

----------

"What ?" Gwen snapped, her eyes taking in Ianto and John's state of undress as they sank back into a deep kiss on the couch, Jack along with them.

"Good question," a male voice added from behind her.

Gwen turned to Loz, standing with Nicholas and Elizabeth in the doorway. His gaze was fixed on John, betrayal clear in his eyes.

"Right, that's it," Gwen said, getting annoyed. "Jack, hands off; come over here. You two, get dressed and get out here. Now!"

Seeing Adrian beside her, she followed his line of sight and raised an eyebrow. Jack? She recognised that look, but it was one she would never have expected to see him directing at Jack.

Suddenly, the internal alarms began wailing again. Gwen let out a frustrated sound.

"Oh, give me a break! As if we don't have enough problems, what with my bloody medic behaving like a love-struck teenager." Ianto and John had finally reached the door, clothing mostly in tact, and she glared at them. "Don't even get me started on you three! First, fighting and then- This is a workplace! What the bloody hell were you thinking? Or maybe that was the point- you weren't thinking! Or at least not with any part of your anatomy that's capable of making sensible decisions."

"I do not think that it was within their control to make such decisions."

Gwen whirled around to see a young woman standing across the corridor from them. Well, she used the word woman in a rather loose sense. The being across from them had the appearance of a being who knew what a human was meant to look like, and had tried to copy it. Unfortunately, the result was a little unsettling. She was too perfect, looking more like an airbrushed photograph in a magazine than a real person.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked. "And who are you?"

The woman didn't answer straight away, turning to look around the empty corridor until her gaze fixed on a particular spot. Gwen followed her gaze but there was nothing there.

"I know that you are here," the woman said, and the air shimmered. Gwen stared as a girl appeared, a younger version of the woman before them, appearing to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old.

"Aysa, is this your doing?"

The girl pouted, then turned her huge blue eyes on the older woman. "I was curious, and they were arguing so I thought I could help. Then they got upset. Aliette, I don't understand."

The woman sighed, casting the girl, Aysa, a look that promised that their conversation was not yet over.

"She is inexperienced," Aliette told Gwen.

"I apologise for the trouble she has caused. Please, tell me what we can do to make amends with you."

Gwen noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced across to see John back Ianto to the wall and kiss him again. She reached out an arm and smacked John hard on the back of the head, making him yelp and release Ianto, before glaring at Jack.

"For goodness' sake, Jack, I can see you! Get your hand out of John's pants."

She turned to the Aliette. "What you can do is tell me who you are and what you did. But first, you can reverse whatever you did to them."

----------

"Cupids? Like in the stories?" Gwen asked in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

The woman shook her head. She was keeping a tight hold on the younger one's hand at present. "I have heard of those stories but, as you can see, they are extremely misguided." She looked over at the four men, now standing obediently behind Gwen, their hands in their pockets. They didn't look happy, but Gwen had threatened to shoot the next person who moved.

"I can reverse the spells; it will render them unconscious temporarily," the woman told them. "When they awaken, they will be back to normal."

Aysa glanced up at her. "I was only trying to make them happy; they were quarrelling and-"

"They always quarrel," Gwen informed her. "It's how they are, but it doesn't mean that they're unhappy."

The men were returned to their rooms, Adrian being put to bed in one of the guest rooms, before Aliette reversed the spell that Aysa had placed on them.

----------

Ianto awoke to the sound of an alarm clock bleeping irritatingly. Leaning over Jack, he shut it off and flopped back down into the bed, half-tempted to simply drag the covers back over his head and go back to sleep. His head felt fuzzy, like the aftermath of a hangover but with no headache. Then he remembered the dreams. Oh, God, he'd never be able to look John in the eye again. Or Jack. Jack would think it was hilarious that he had been having erotic dreams about John, and him, together. He'd never hear the end of it.

Giving Jack a nudge to wake him up, Ianto got out of bed.

An hour later, they were ready to make their way downstairs. As they left their room, the door opposite opened. Ianto stopped, not meeting John's eyes. Not because of the dream, but because it suddenly hit him that it hadn't been one.

"That was real?" he whispered to Jack, the other man nodding.

Loz came out of the room, almost walking into John since he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and hadn't noticed that the man had stopped.

John smiled at them. "Morning Jack, Eye-candy- sorry, _Ianto_."

"You know, that doesn't bother me quite as much as it did," Ianto told him.

The unease that Ianto had expected, especially Loz's, never happened. Instead, they sauntered down toward Torchwood together.

"If you ever decide you want a repeat," John began, a teasing smile on his face, "you know where to find me."

Ianto laughed, but as he caught Jack's eye, he could see that they were sharing the same thought. He was tempted. Jack let them get a little way ahead and turned to Ianto.

"No strings," he said. "And nothing comes between us."

Ianto nodded, then called out, "Hey, space-boy?"

John turned.

"'You two got plans for tonight?"

There was a silent conferral between John and Loz, before John grinned. "We do now."

-------

End.


	10. Out of Time part 1

Old Town New

Chapter 10 – Out of Time (Pt 1)

"What the hell did you do?"

John looked around at where the car park had been only moments earlier before glaring at Jack.

Jack glared back. "I didn't do anything." He glanced around on the ground for the artefact he had dropped when the world had shifted around them. "Where is the damn thing?"

Unfortunately, the little round metallic disc that they had found was nowhere to be seen. Just like the rest of Cardiff, despite the fact they were standing slap-bang in the middle of it.

"I don't understand- it was inactive. It can't have done this," he said, checking his wristband. Luckily, that was still working.

It should have been a simple retrieval; just collect the alien whatever-it-was that Gwen had detected as it dropped through the rift. That was why she called them. Jack, John, Loz, Ianto and Adrian were having a boys' night out at a pub close to where the rift had spat out its latest piece of flotsam. What shouldn't have happened was this, whatever this was.

The object had been right where Gwen said it would be and Jack had picked it up to put it in plastic zipper-top bag when…

Ianto still wasn't sure what had happened. One moment they were chatting as they collected it and the next, there was a rumble, like thunder when it was right overhead, and the static charge in the air had made the hairs on his arms stand on end.

He looked around at the wide grassy field they were standing in, to the woodlands that were to the edge. In the valley below, he could see evidence of a primitive settlement, nothing more than wood huts. In the distance, a larger estate could be seen, the house, much larger and grander than those nearby.

Next to him, Jack looked out over it, his expression blank.

"Jack, any ideas?"

Jack turned and forced a smile, even though Ianto could see straight through it.

"Well, Dorothy, I think it's safe to say we're not in Kansas any more."

John checked his own wristband, staring at it before giving it a gentle smack and then reading it again. When he looked up, his eyes were wide.

"According to this, we're still in Cardiff," he said, "Or at least, where Cardiff is going to be in a couple of thousand years' time."

"What?" Adrian was shaking his head as though denying it could undo it. "That can't be right. Check again."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Mine says the same; it's right. Question is, what now?"

"We find that doohickey and we reverse whatever it did, that's what we do now," Adrian said.

"Or maybe we should head for the trees," Loz suggested. When everyone turned to him, he pointed to the horizon. "Those horsemen appear to be heading our way and they do not look like a welcoming committee."

Ianto had to agree; there were four riders coming toward them, the horses' hooves pounding across the field. They would be here in no time.

"Now would be a good time," Loz urged, setting off at a run and dragging John along by the hand. Everyone else was seconds behind them.

They reached the tree line only moments before the horsemen, heading for the thickest undergrowth where, hopefully, the riders wouldn't be able to follow. Everyone crouched in the bushes, silently trying to will the men away.

Ten minutes later, after a quick scan of the area, they decided it was safe to move once more.

"What was that?" Adrian demanded. "Who were they and what was their problem?"

"I think a better question is 'who are they?'," Jack said quietly, his body tensing and his eyes fixed on something just behind Loz and John.

Loz began to turn to see what he was watching when he felt cold steel against his throat, an arm going around his chest to hold him still. More people stepped out of the shadows, from hiding places behind tree trunks. All of them were armed with the same vicious-looking broadswords or daggers, their clothing roughly made from animal hides and furs.

"Oh, give us a bloody break!"

Jack kicked Adrian as subtly as he could in order to shut him up. There wasn't any point in antagonising these people any more than they had already, and having Adrian launch into one of his rants would likely do that.

The man holding Loz pressed the blade a little harder against his skin, enough to draw a spot of red blood on his throat.

"Would you please refrain from doing that," John asked him calmly. "Because if you hurt him again, I'm going to have to kick your arse."

The men looked at each other and any doubts that Ianto had regarding a language barrier evaporated as they laughed.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" John asked, eyes narrowing as he glared around at them all.

"Your threats are empty, little man; you are not worthy of challenging me."

John smiled, making Ianto feel suddenly nervous. That smile only ever led to trouble.

"Oh, really?"

John nodded to Loz, and he kicked back into his captor's knee at the same time as John wrenched his wrist away, sword and all, and twisted it. The sword clattered to the floor as the man clutched his wrist to him. John dropped low to the ground and, with a round kick, swept the man's feet out from under him. As Loz picked up the fallen sword, using it to keep the others back, John crouched down until he could look the man in the eyes.

"Not worthy, eh?" he laughed derisively, stood, and walked away. "Egotistical prick." Looking around at the other strangers, suddenly not seeming quite as sure of themselves, he smiled pleasantly. "Anyone else want to try?"

One man stepped forward but before he had taken more than a couple of paces, a voice stopped him.

"Leave him."

John looked around as the man he had dropped to the ground began to get up, dusting himself off. Coming over to John, he nodded.

"Not bad." He clapped John on the back, almost knocking him over, a surprised grin on his face.

The other men kept their blades raised, however, still keeping an eye on Jack and the others.

"What are you doing here?" one demanded. "If you intend to take us back to your masters, you will not succeed. We would die first."

Ianto edged a little further away from the blade as the man waved it angrily. "We aren't here to take you anywhere," he said.

"But you led them to the wood!"

Now Ianto realised what he meant. "Ah, no, we didn't. I think you'll find that those men on the horses were chasing us. Who were they anyway?"

It took some time before the strangers accepted that they really didn't know who the riders were; in fact, they seemed shocked that _anyone_ didn't know who they were. Two hours later, Jack sat with Ianto in a roughly disguised lean-to. The camp they were in was spread among the trees, using branches and leaves to blend the huts and shelters into the undergrowth. Surrounded on two sides by high foliage, the other sides were blocked by stick-built fences. It was a good disguise; until they had been led in through the narrow gap in the fences, Ianto hadn't even realised that the camp was here.

"What are we supposed to do, Jack?" he asked. "Just sit here and hope that whatever happened will spontaneously undo itself?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know." At Ianto's look of dismay, he put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in closer, pressing a kiss to his temple. He didn't know what else to say; he had no clue as to how they were meant to fix this. "Look on the bright side; you and me'll still be young and pretty, even if we have to wait until we get back to our time."

Ianto sighed. "I suppose, but I don't fancy sitting around and waiting for a couple of thousand years."

"Neither do I, and we won't have to. We'll sort this somehow." Jack glanced up to where their hosts were gathered around the cooking pot in the centre of the camp. John, Loz and Adrian had already sat themselves down had been given a metal bowl each. "Come on, it looks like dinner is served."

Over dinner- stewed wild rabbit as far as Ianto could guess, not that he was willing to look too closely- they learned who the riders were who had been pursuing them earlier. In accordance to the way their luck was going so far, they had arrived in the middle of a war or sorts. Their Celtic hosts had been forced into hiding here in the woodlands by the landowners, though that wasn't exactly how the Celts had described them. Invaders, murderers, thieves; and they were some of the politer descriptions. The invaders had arrived to settle what they saw as an uncivilised land, slowly forcing out the occupants or enslaving them.

Eoghan and his small band of hold-outs had escaped into the woodlands and had been fighting back ever since. There were others, they said, other groups who were trying to reclaim their lands and freedoms whilst evading capture.

Jack could see the expressions on the others' faces and expected that they matched his own. Now not only did they have to find a way back but they were going to be hunted every step of the way. By associating themselves with the Celts, they had inherited their enemies too.

----------

It had been three days since anyone had seen the boys. Gwen had even tried calling Ianto's sister in the hope that he had contacted her. Had she worked anywhere else but Torchwood, she would have found it completely unbelievable that five men could vanish without a trace, but this was her life. Weird stuff happened all of the time, which was why she was getting worried.

"I has to have something to do with that thingumy-jigg," Rhys said. "The one you sent them to collect."

"I know, but I don't know what. Jack would probably know, or John or Loz…" She sighed. "Then again, when we actually find the bloody thing we might have a better chance of figuring out what it is!"

Lizzie and Nicholas had already gone back to the spot where the rift had dropped the debris, Gwen was on her way to join them as soon as she had taken Isabella to school. She had spent most of the past three days looking for the rest of her team but she was determined that Isabella's routine would not be interrupted. Her daughter seemed to know that something was wrong and had begun asking where Uncle John, Uncle Ianto and Uncle Jack were.

As soon as she had seen Isabella safely into the building, she went to join Lizzie and Nicholas. They didn't even know what they were looking for but Gwen's gut told her that they had to find it. Goodness only knew what was happening to the boys or where they were, and Gwen felt responsible for them. After all, she was the one who had sent them to collect the rift debris.

* * *

Ianto felt a bit ridiculous in the leather 'armour' that they had given him to wear. He wanted his suit back, but that hadn't been entirely practical, and it certainly wouldn't protect him from blades should they run into the enemy. Their idea of keeping a low profile had fallen by the wayside almost straight away; if they were going to stay in the camp, then they had to help. That meant food raids, since there wasn't enough in the camp for the original occupants as well as the five extra people. Most of the Celts' food came from the nearby village- all enemy territory- stolen along with anything else they could find that would both help them and hinder their enemy.

"I look like an extra from Xena," he complained.

Jack smirked and reached over to run his hand over Ianto's arse, now encased in leather. "I like it. It's sexy; you have no idea how much I want to drag you inside and rip it off you again."

Ianto laughed. "Is there anything that _doesn't_ turn you on?"

Jack's smirk grew wider. "'Haven't found it yet," he replied happily. With a quick glance to make sure that they were alone, he gripped the front of Ianto's trouser waistband and hauled him close before kissing the breath out of him.

"Hey, hands off- I'm armed, remember?"

"I know. _Very_ macho," Jack teased, not looking in the slightest bit unsettled by the half-sword that Ianto had strapped in the scabbard at his waist. He pulled Ianto nearer, close enough that Ianto could feel just how turned on he was by seeing his lover in this gear. Seeing Ianto in armour and leather, with the sword, was like a fantasy come true; he wondered if he could persuade Ianto to dress like this back home once in a while…

"Put him down, Harkness," John ordered, sounding amused. He passed them by on his way to the group of warriors who were preparing to leave. "You can play with him later."

Jack sighed and took a reluctant step back, taking Ianto's hand and joining the others.

It was only as they were leaving the village with their spoils that trouble erupted. They had managed to stay undetected until that point but as they left, one of the guards spotted them and raised the alarm. They had no option but to fight. It was more difficult than he had ever thought to fight with a sword, even the half-sword that Ianto had been given, and he was lucky that Caradec was there when the guard attacked him. Ianto was no match for these people- and he was selfishly relieved to see that the others were all doing as badly as him. All except Loz, that was. The man moved like Errol Flynn in the old movies, all fluidic grace and fancy moves.

Caradec delivered a hacking blow to the armour-clad man just as he attacked Ianto again, dropping him to the ground.

"Thank you."

Caradec shrugged his shoulders as though to say, 'it was nothing'. He urged Ianto to run, indicating to where the others had already begun to flee, but as he glanced back, Ianto saw Jack crumple to the ground.

"I've got to go back!" he yelled to Caradec, seeing the other man follow him back into the village.

Ianto didn't hesitate this time, swinging the sword in a wide arc and taking out Jack's attacker in one slice.

"Jack, come on, we've got to get you out of here."

Ianto hauled Jack to his feet and slung the semi-conscious man's arm around his neck as Caradec did the same at his other side. Together, they got Jack back to the safety of the woods and back to camp. Meilyr, the nearest thing the Celts had to a physician, looked at his companions and shook his head minutely before going to Ianto and crouching beside him where he sat with Jack.

"He is gravely wounded, Ianto."

Ianto ignored him. Jack wasn't dead, he knew that because _he_ was still breathing. Had Jack actually died, Ianto would have too thanks to their shared lifeline. He didn't even feel woozy, as he tended to if Jack was injured and close to death. No, he just needed time to recover. He saw the men standing around him, looking on with expressions of pity as they expected the worst, and heard Adrian trying to explain.

"He'll be fine, trust me. Jack and Ianto aren't exactly the same as us-"

The words had barely left his mouth when Jack suddenly sat up, his eyes wide as he ripped open the leather tunic and inspected the place under the blood-stained hole in his clothing. There was nothing to be seen. Ianto grinned and threw his arms around Jack; no matter how many times this happened and how he knew that Jack would heal, he never stopped worrying.

Around him, the Celts stepped back as one, staring at Jack as though he were some kind of demon.

"What are you?" Meilyr asked.

* * *

To be continued…

A/N- Historical references are used here with a rather large pinch of artistic license.


	11. Out of Time part 2

This chapter is an 18. It's not my fault; Jack refused to behave himself and, unfortunately, he's a bad influence on the others too.

* * *

Old Town New

Chapter 11 – Out of Time (pt 2)

Ianto looked around at the mixture of fear and horror at the amazing speed of Jack's recovery and felt his heart sink.

"I guess this is where they get out the pitchforks and flaming torches and run us out of town," he said to Jack, aiming for humour but failing miserably. The truth was that he rather liked these people. Sure, his first impression of them hadn't been entirely favourable but if they had to be stuck in the past, he was coming around to the idea that it wouldn't be too bad if it was here.

Jack got to his feet, still slightly uncomfortable from the healing wound, and reached out to help Ianto up too.

"I'm not a demon, or a god or whatever else you might think," Jack told them. "I'm human." Ianto was close enough to hear the muttered, '_mostly_', on the end of that statement.

"But the wound was grave," Meilyr continued, determined not to let this go. "I saw it with my own eyes, just as I saw that it had gone. No man can heal that way."

"I can," Jack told him, "As can Ianto."

John smiled disarmingly and edged closer to the two men, facing the Celts. "They speak the truth," he said. "I know how disturbing that is to see for the first time, and I knew about it in advance." He could see that they weren't going to accept it, and now they were eyeing him, Adrian and Loz with the same suspicion.

"Fine," he told them. "If you don't believe it, then that's up to you. I know how it must look; we appeared out of nowhere, dressed oddly and then Jack healed himself. Maybe we are different, but you need to know that whatever we are, we did not come here to hurt you."

Ianto glanced around; the Celts seemed happier in thinking that they were magical- he heard one of the men murmur the name _Tylwyth Teg_, meaning the Celtic fair-folk or fairies of the legends his grandmother used to tell him. He supposed that in their place, he too would be glad to have some kind of familiar explanation to pin to the odd events of the past few hours. Deciding to play along, he smiled.

"We do not wish to be treated differently," he told the band of warriors. "Here we are just men, nothing more."

Eoin frowned then the Celts moved back a little, whispering among themselves before he and Eoghan turned back to face them.

"You are welcome in our camp," he said, a little more formally than he had when they had first arrived. "We are honoured by your presence."

Jack shook his head. "Just like you, remember? If anything, we should be thanking you for your kindness in allowing us shelter here."

"How about we just go back to how it was yesterday?" John suggested. "Treat us as you did then."

Eoghan looked unsure, torn between his belief that the Tylwyth Teg were powerful creatures who deserved to be treated with reverence and the wishes of said Tylwyth Teg currently standing before him. Eventually, he nodded.

"We shall try."

Adrian smiled. "Good. Now that's sorted, what are we having for dinner?"

Leaving them to their meal, Ianto took Jack's hand and silently led him away from the camp. They walked along some of the beaten-down animal tracks through the woods until they reached the clearing that Caradec had shown them to the previous day. A little way away, a narrow stream bubbled along- the source of fresh water for the camp- making pleasant, calming sounds. At present, however, Ianto was feeling anything but calm. He smacked Jack on the shoulder, making him yelp in surprise.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"That was for being stupid enough to get yourself stabbed," he said, "And this is for recovering."

Ianto backed Jack against the nearest tree trunk and kissed him passionately, all of the worry and then joy he had felt over the past few hours coming out in that kiss. Jack grinned as they parted, turning them so that Ianto was now pinned against the rough bark.

"I have been waiting to get my hands on you all day," Jack murmured, in between nips and kisses to Ianto's throat. "Do you have any idea how bloody distracting it is, watching you strut around in those tight little trousers, that delectable arse tempting me?"

His hand on Jack's waist, pulling him closer, Ianto felt the hard press of Jack's arousal against his. Thrusting his hips up, he drew a groan from Jack. Apparently that was all it took to encourage Jack, whose fingers began to frantically unlace Ianto's trousers, stripping the tight leather from him and dropping to his knees.

Ianto groaned loudly as Jack took his cock in deep into his throat, his fingers gripping Ianto's hips. His head fell back against the tree trunk, eyes closing as Jack's talented mouth sucked and licked, bringing him close to coming in an embarrassingly short time.

"_Jack._"

Jack drew back, releasing Ianto's cock and looking up at him. "You close, baby?"

Ianto nodded a little desperately. "Don't want to come until you're in me."

Ianto found himself flat on his back in the cool grass a few moments later, buck naked, with an equally naked Jack wrapped around him. It always amazed him just how fast Jack could shed his clothes; maybe he'd been a stripper in a past life, Ianto wondered. Then the thought was chased from his mind as a saliva-slicked finger breeched his body. Just that was almost enough, and Ianto clamped a hand around the base of his cock to stave off the orgasm he felt building when Jack slipped in a second digit.

Ianto pulled his knees up to his sides as Jack eased into him, filling him, closing his mouth over Ianto's in order to stifle his moans.

"Move, Jack! Can't…"

Jack took his command to heart, fucking him hard, one hand wrapping around Ianto's cock, moving to the same pace he thrust into Ianto with. It didn't take long before Ianto was shouting out his orgasm, hot come covering his stomach and Jack's hand, moments before Jack joined him.

"I gotta get stabbed more often if you're going to drag me off into the woods like this every time," Jack joked, breathing hard as he collapsed next to Ianto.

Ianto half-heartedly slapped him across the chest. "How's about this?" he suggested. "You manage _not_ to get yourself injured next time and I'll fuck you so hard you won't be sitting down for a week."

Jack grinned and pounced on Ianto again, rolling them over in the grass. "Do I get a preview?"

"Behave," Ianto reprimanded, smiling. "Besides, someone is going to come looking for us soon."

"I think they already know what we're doing; you do get kinda loud-"

The sound of the _slap_ that Ianto issued to Jack's arse for that comment echoed through the woods.

By the time they got back to camp, most of the men were already asleep in their shelters. Adrian was sprawled on his back, snoring gently, with Loz and John curled up together next to him. Ianto laughed softly and nudged Jack to look as Adrian rolled over in his sleep and snuggled himself in against Loz without waking.

Silently, Jack and Ianto crept back into the shelter, to their makeshift bed, and settled down to get some sleep. If the past few days were anything to go by, they would need all the rest they could get before tomorrow.

----------

It was Nicholas who found the artefact, though he wasn't sure what he'd found to begin with.

"Lizzie, there's something not right about that," he said, pointing to a small silver metal disc on the ground. It was down by the kerb, as though it had rolled off and landed in among the leaves and dirt.

"What do you mean?"

His cheeks flushed slightly. "It feels wrong," he told her. "When it gets close to the full moon, my senses are like the wolf's. I don't know how to explain it, but that thing doesn't belong."

Lizzie crouched to pick it up.

"Don't touch it!"

Lizzie snatched her fingers away quickly and looked to Gwen in alarm.

"We don't know if that was what caused Jack and the others to vanish, or how it did it," Gwen reminded her. "I'd rather find out what we're dealing with before anyone touches that thing."

She took out a pair of gloves from her bag and put one on before very carefully lifting the disc out of the gutter by its edges.

"Right, we need to get this back to Torchwood." She only wished that the men were here; Loz, John or Jack especially, since they were most likely to know what the hell this was. Let's just hope that there's something in the database for it, she thought. Maybe someone at one of the other Torchwood bases would have some information about it.

----------

John was sitting by the campfire with the Celts and Jack and Ianto when Adrian finally opened his eyes. Everyone turned to see what John was looking at.

"Comfy, Doc?" he asked, grinning.

For a moment, still only half awake, Adrian frowned, looking confused until he figured it out. His cheeks pinked as he tried to disentangle himself from Loz's arms, the movement waking the other man too. He and Loz were curled up together, arms and legs entwined, Adrian ending up sleeping with his face pressed into the crook of Loz's neck. Loz glanced up at John and said good morning, completely unapologetic.

John sniggered and turned back to his breakfast. "I never took the good doctor for a snuggler," he said to Ianto. "Now Loz, on the other hand…"

Ianto remembered; John and Loz spent the occasional night with him and Jack, and Loz did tend to cuddle up to whoever was sleeping next to him.

Over breakfast, the warriors planned for the day. They had heard a rumour from one of their sources- a man in the 'employ' of one of the landowners- that his master was expecting an important shipment tonight. They had no idea what it was, but chances where that if it was important to their enemy, it would cause a big problem if they hijacked it. And that was what they were about; if they couldn't get rid of the invaders, then they certainly weren't going to let them have an easy life.

Caradec looked surprised when John immediately volunteered to help.

"What do you say, Jack? It's been ages since we got to do something fun," he said. "We used to do stuff like this- remember Praxiz 4, with that transport ship?"

Jack grinned. "We only got into that because of that guy in the bar- what was his name?"

John thought for a moment before they both said, "Devvin!" at the same time. Jack glanced at Ianto. "Devvin was hot, and I mean smokin' hot."

"He was a big guy; blonde, blue eyes, _huge_…" He paused, glancing at the Celts and realising that rather than looking completely scandalized as he had expected, more than a few of them were genuinely curious, listening whilst the others pretended not to.

"Praxian's are known for their stamina," he continued. "That guy fucked like the energizer bunny. It was, what? Six days we were there?"

Jack nodded, smiling at the memory. "We spent the rest of the week with him and these other two guys…"

"…Then took a week to recover when we got back," John finished. He shifted slightly in his seat; just remembering that week was making him hard. He wasn't the only one, he realised after seeing Jack slide a little closer to Ianto so that he could grope his arse unseen. He glanced at Loz, wondering just how shocked their hosts would be if he dragged his lover away right this minute and fucked his brains out. Not very, he decided, or maybe he just didn't care. Whatever, he excused himself and took Loz's plate from him, setting it on the ground and pulling the man to his feet.

"We're just going to go and, um, reconnoitre. Yeah, that's what we're going to do…"

After a brief whispered discussion between Jack and Ianto, Jack asked, "You want us to come and help with that _reconnaissance_?" When John nodded, Jack glanced at Adrian. "You'll be fine here for a while, won't you? You can come along if you want but I didn't think you'd want to."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine here."

Caradec was watching them with open intrigue, and the look in his eyes suggested that he had been following the real conversation.

"I would like to go with you," he began hesitantly. "If you permit me, of course…"

Jack nodded his head in the direction that John, Loz and Ianto were heading and grinned at the man. "Come on."

The remaining warriors looked to Adrian, some looking a little confused, others smirking knowingly. Not really sure what to say to them, he just smiled pleasantly and went back to his breakfast.

----------

It took them another day before Gwen finally got word back from her contact in one of the other Torchwood about the artefact and, more importantly, what it had done to the men.

"It's a teleportation device," she said. "Angelo said they caught the alien who had left it there and get this, it was a practical joke. He left them with the intention of some unsuspecting person picking it up and accidentally transporting themselves goodness-knows-where."

"Do they know where this one is programmed to send people?" Lizzie asked in horror.

Gwen shook her head. "No; they were all randomly programmed and Angelo thought they'd got all of them. He says that their joker must have released some more, and one got caught up in the rift here." She eyed the harmless-looking little object on the desk. "The good news is that he told me how to reverse the effects."

Lizzie watched as Gwen put her gloves back on and picked up the disc. There were two separate rings interlaid on a flat base, with faint markings on the outer and inner rings. Gwen carefully moved them, aligning certain symbols and then dropped it into a plastic bag and put it in her pocket.

"Right, we're meant to activate it once we're in the same spot where Jack and the others vanished from," she announced, picking up her car keys.

Twenty minutes later they stood in the car park, near to the place where Nicholas had found the disc. Gwen took off her glove; apparently, the artefact would only trigger if touched by skin, not the leather of her glove.

"Are you sure this isn't going to send us wherever they went?" Lizzie asked, looking worried. "And what if it does work and they aren't together, wherever they are? It might leave some of them behind."

Gwen had been thinking much the same for a while now, but she couldn't let Lizzie or Nicholas see that. It had always impressed her how much in control Jack had always been, so calm and sure of himself, but after taking charge of Torchwood, she had realised that it was just an illusion. She had to look as though she was certain of each decision, or the others wouldn't follow her orders. Half of being in charge was in reassuring everyone else.

Pasting a smile on her face, she nodded. "Of course it will work. I've set it just as Angelo said, to reverse the teleport."

Lizzie took Nicholas' hand. "OK. Well, fingers crossed, eh?"

"Yes, fingers crossed," Gwen echoed, and pressed the centre of the disc.

----------

Their mission had been a success. The carriage they had set out to ambush had actually been transporting funds and weaponry to the landowners, presumably to be used in the fight against the Celt rebels. The warriors had taken everything, enough to rearm themselves and send some on to their counterparts in other areas. No one from their band had been hurt except for a few bruises and minor cuts from the fight with the guards. All in all, it had been a very good day and they were celebrating with a feast.

Or they were until Jack, Ianto, John, Loz and Adrian suddenly vanished.

Ianto drew the short-sword still strapped at his waist and moving to a defensive stance, seeing the others arming themselves also as the world shifted around them.

"Ianto! It's us; don't hurt us!"

At the sound of Lizzie's panicked voice, Ianto lowered his weapon as he finally took a moment to look at their new surroundings, seeing the office buildings and apartment blocks. He caught Lizzie as she threw her arms around him, hugging them all in turn as Gwen and Nicholas welcomed them back also.

"You know what I really want, right now?" Jack said as they headed for the vehicles to take them back to Torchwood. "A shower, some coffee and a bed. In that order."

Ianto nodded, climbing into the car beside Jack. That sounded good, he thought. He saw Jack watching him, a little smile on his face as he leaned closer and whispered,

"And the best thing? We get to keep that sexy leather gear you're wearing."

Ianto laughed, making Gwen glance their way curiously.

Ianto discreetly gave Jack's wandering hand a slap before Gwen noticed..

"Behave, and I'll let you share my shower," he whispered back, another laugh escaping his lips as Jack sat back in his seat, hands folded in his lap; it was amazing how good Jack could be with a little motivation.

Sitting back, Ianto watched the familiar buildings of Cardiff pass them by and smiled. It was good to be home.

-------

End.

A/N- Again, all historical and mythological references are used along with a huge pinch of artistic license.


	12. The Babysitter's Club

Sorry this took so long- Life got in the way (publishers, book editing, etc). If anyone is interested in my books, by the way, check out the website links on my profile page.

* * *

The Babysitter's Club

"Now remember, we'll be back in three days. You know mine and Rhys' mobile numbers and I've left the number of the hotel for you as well, just in case. Don't let her stay up too late. And make sure she eats her vegetables- you know she doesn't really like them-"

Jack sighed. "Gwen, I was a parent, remember? I can take care of Isabella."

At the mention of her name the little girl looked up at him from where she stood, holding Ianto's hand, next to him.

"Don't worry; everything will be fine," Ianto reassured Gwen and Rhys. "Go and enjoy yourselves. You deserve a break."

There had been no rift activity for the past two months, no rampaging weevils, nothing odd at all, and so Jack had encouraged Gwen to take some time off. John and Loz had gone off to the coast for a few days, taking advantage of the lull in activity also. It had been Ianto's suggestion that Isabella stay with them so that Gwen and Rhys could have a little time alone. Initially, Gwen had been enthusiastic but the closer they got to leaving, the more fretting she did.

"And you two keep you hands off each other," Gwen was saying. "I know what you're like. If you corrupt my daughter in any way…"

Rhys bundled his wife into the waiting taxi, waving goodbye as he assured her that their daughter was in good hands, as Ianto picked Isabella up so she could wave back.

Still thinking on Gwen's words, Jack frowned. "Why was she looking at me just then?" he grumbled, sounding offended. "What does she think I am? I'm not some uncontrollable sex-maniac."

Isabella turned in Ianto's arms, her arms around his neck as she looked into his eyes.

"Uncle Ianto? What's a sex-maniac?"

Ianto sighed as he said, "Nothing, sweetheart. Now, let's get to school, shall we?"

Setting her back on the ground, he watched as she ran inside excitedly to get her coat. With her suitably distracted, Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack. "Nice going."

"What?"

"Just watch what you're saying."

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

That afternoon, Jack and Ianto stood outside the school gates with the other parents, waiting for Isabella. Jack had noticed a few of the other mums casting interested glances at Ianto as they waited and smiled. Ianto, however, seemed oblivious. He chatted with three young mums, charming them without even trying. They all knew that he was taken, as he and Jack had collected Isabella often enough that they knew most of the other parents and teachers from Isabella's class. According to Gwen, the women called them 'those two lovely young men'; the fact that they were in a relationship was less of a concern than the fact that half of them were jealous that Ianto was taken. Whenever he told Ianto that, however, the younger man just blushed and told him to stop being daft.

The doors opened and three teachers escorted the kids out, making sure that the younger ones were met by their parents and that no one left the grounds without an adult.

Isabella came racing toward them with a huge smile on her face and a Spongebob Squarepants lunchbox clutched tightly in one hand. The other hand held a crayon drawing that she thrust out toward Jack as she got close enough.

"That's lovely! What a great picture." Jack studied it for a moment; he though it looked like a llama, if you actually got blue llamas, but he couldn't be sure.

"It's a horse," the little girl pointed out helpfully and Jack smiled. Of course; why hadn't he guessed horse?

"Can we go play on the swings before we go home?" she asked.

Gwen usually took her to the park on a Friday, as the younger kids' school ended earlier on a Friday, and so Jack nodded. They set off down the footpath with Isabella between them, every so often lifting her feet and letting them swing her.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Nicholas watched as Lizzie pressed the button which locked the specially adapted cell.

"Another five minutes until sundown," Lizzie told him, sitting in the chair she had placed in front of the large plexiglass cell-front.

He nodded. "I know. I can feel it getting closer." He looked around his cell and then back to Lizzie. "Could you please put the curtain up?"

"Honey, I've seen it all before," she teased. She and Nicholas had been dating for the past few months but he was ever the polite gentleman. Born and raised with morals and codes of conduct that were a century old meant that he was still uneasy with Lizzie's rather more forthright attitudes. She had finally got him to accept that kissing her in public would not cause a stir, or that he could actually stay at her house unchaperoned, even though they weren't married, without besmirching her reputation; he still wasn't comfortable with nakedness. Especially when he was about to transform. Okay, so that she hadn't seen before.

"I do not wish for you to witness my curse," Nicholas explained. He had removed his boots and jacket but refused to do any more until she put up the cover over the window.

Lizzie hung the cloth over the glass. Five minutes later, she heard the tell-tale sound of claws clicking on the cell floor and tugged the curtain down again. Sure enough, instead of Nicholas she found herself staring at a huge black wolf. It pacing around the cell, agitated, going to the door and back again in search of a way out.

When the wolf saw her crouch down in front of the glass, up close, it stopped pacing. Lizzie smiled.

"That's right, I'm here." The wolf cocked its head to the side at the sound of her voice. She didn't know how much Nicholas understood as the wolf, but his memory afterwards was sketchy. He did seem calmer when someone sat with him, though. Maybe he just liked the company.

"Now then, what shall we read?" she continued, picking up the pile of magazines and novels she had with her. "I don't think you're much of a Computer Weekly guy so how about another chapter of The Time Machine?"

As Lizzie began to read aloud, the wolf settled down on the bed of blankets in the corner.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Two floors above the cells, Jack found himself wearing a pink feather boa and a sparkly tiara. He was sitting on the floor in the lounge of his and Ianto's quarters, cross legged, with a cup and saucer in front of him. Isabella had worn them out at the park earlier. Both he and Ianto had been run ragged with her demands that they play on the slide with her, push her on the swings, chase her, play on the roundabout. When they came home, looking forward to a sit down, she decided that they were having a tea party. With cookies. Unfortunately, the only way they were going to get a cookie, even Ianto who had supplied them, was to play dress-up as well. Jack had drawn the short straw with the feathers and tiara.

"Why do I have to wear this?" Jack asked, flicking at the end of the feather boa as Isabella put it around his neck.

She just smiled. "So you'll look pretty," she told him in the same tone her mother used when someone asked her a stupid question. Glancing at Ianto, he tried rephrasing the question.

"Ianto only got a hat. Why doesn't he have to wear feathers?"

"Because he's the daddy and you're the mummy."

Ianto tried and failed to hold back his laughter. "Look at it this way, Jack, it could have been worse. She could have made you wear a dress." He lowered his voice and leaned in, grinning, to whisper in Jack's ear. "Wouldn't be the first time, though, would it?"

Isabella didn't notice Jack's cheeks turning pink as he blushed, remembering, just continued fussing with her teddy bear. It was sitting next to Jack, a cup and saucer in front of it and one of Jack's ties around its neck. When it fell over for the second time, she looked at Jack with the puppy-dog eyes that usually got her whatever she wanted, and he sighed. Picking up the bear, he sat it on his lap instead. Isabella beamed at him and handed them each a plate with a cookie on it.

She picked up the pink plastic teapot in front of her and poured them both a teacup full of milk- Ianto refused to let her have anything hot in the teapot and so it was either milk or orange juice- and then picked up her cookie. After chewing thoughtfully on it for a few minutes, she turned her curious gaze back to the two of them.

"Are you and Uncle Jack married?" she asked. "Mummy and Daddy are but Mummy has a pretty ring. She let me try it on once. It's gold and shiny. Do you have one, Uncle Ianto?"

Ianto sighed; it was going to be one of those nights.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Lizzie sat in the cell with Nicholas. He had begun pacing again a while ago and so she went in to sit with him. She had no fear that he would attack her in his werewolf form; even if he didn't understand much as the wolf, he had never so much as growled at her. She sat on the floor with her back to the wall and he came to lay beside her, his head resting on her leg.

Running her fingers through the thick pelt, she turned over the last page of her magazine with her other hand. Nicholas had fallen asleep, seemingly content to snooze away his time as the wolf. Setting Computer Weekly aside, Lizzie looked for her bag, only to see that it was still outside on the chair. Sliding out from under the wolf's head and easing him to the blankets, she went to get another magazine.

Lizzie got a bottle of water and this month's Film Review and went back to the cell.

"Oh shit!"

The door was ajar, the cell empty.

Not good, she told herself, not good at all. Dumping her things on the ground next to the cell she ran back to her bag to get her mobile phone. Jack would know what to do.

"Bugger!"

No mobile; she could see it quite clearly in her mind's eye, next to her laptop in her office, where she had been working. What she couldn't remember was picking it up again.

"Okay, think," she told herself. "Just find Nicholas and everything will be fine. Now, if I was a werewolf, where would I go?"

The thought caused her to stop and laugh. Before coming to work at Torchwood, questions like that wouldn't have seemed so normal to her. Lizzie set off toward the kitchen, thinking that he might be hungry. With the wolf's sense of smell, he would be able to smell the food there.

Unfortunately, he wasn't there. Plan B, she thought, trying not to panic as she headed for the Batcave, the control room of Torchwood. From there she could check all of the CCTV feeds and track him that way. It would be a lot quicker than a physical search.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

They were trying to get Isabella to go to bed. So far, the best they had managed was to get her into her pyjamas but then she decided that she wanted a story from Jack. And then another, but this time Ianto had to read it. Then she was thirsty. It went on for about half a hour before Jack finally gave in and let her sit on the sofa with Ianto and watch TV for a little while. He left them watching an old black and white Western whilst he went to get her a glass of warm milk from the kitchen. He knew she would be asleep in no time and he was right. He hadn't even had the chance to sit down again with her milk when her eyes began to close and her head fell to rest on Ianto's arm, Ianto got up to put her to bed. Suddenly, Isabella looked at something behind Ianto, near to the door, looking wide awake again. Her face broke into a wide smile and she climbed down off the sofa.

"Doggy!" She pointed, getting to her feet. "Can I play with it?"

Ianto and Jack turned quickly. Sharing a look, Ianto grabbed Isabella's hand before she could take another step closer.

"That's not a doggy, sweetie," Jack told her.

"How the hell did he get out?" Ianto asked Jack urgently, keeping his voice low and his eye on the wolf. "He was locked in for the night."

"Lizzie was meant to be watching him," Jack pointed out. "He must have followed me back here when I went down to the kitchen."

"Well I'm sure he didn't open the door on his own," Ianto said with a pointed glare.

Though he really wanted to react to Ianto's snarky tone, Jack didn't. It was him who hadn't closed the door properly but in his defence, they were in a highly secure building and there wasn't really a need for locking doors. In fact, the only time they did bother was when they didn't want interrupting. Still, he should have at least closed it fully.

Glancing to his side, Jack saw that their only escape route was too far away should Nicholas decide to attack. He couldn't reach his mobile phone as that was on the table by far window, as was his wristband and Ianto's phone.

The wolf took another step toward them and they backed up again, matching it pace for pace and trying to move slowly enough that it wouldn't perceive them as a threat. Ianto had Isabella by the hand, making sure that he could put himself between her and the wolf if need be. Each time he stooped to try and pick her up, the wolf gave a small growl and so he had to urge her to back up with him. She looked confused, but did it anyway as she watched the 'doggy'.

"What now?" Ianto whispered urgently as his back hit the wall. There was nowhere else to retreat to and still the wolf approached. Jack began to edge along the wall toward his mobile. The wolf seemed focussed on Ianto and Isabella, barely noticing him.

That was, until his phone rang and the wolf's eyes turned his way.

"This had better be a matter of life or death," he told the caller.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Lizzie ran from the Batcave at speeds that would put an Olympic sprinter to shame. She had managed to track Nicholas's wanderings with the cameras. At first, he just looked around, sniffing at the strange (to the wolf) surroundings but then she saw him reach Jack and Ianto's living quarters. She had seen Jack walking back there a short time earlier, Nicholas tracking him later, his nose to the ground. The door was open a tiny crack and he paused, ears pricking as though listening to something before nosing the door open enough to slip inside. There were no cameras inside as it was Jack and Ianto's personal space- she would have given anything for a camera in there but Gwen kept vetoing the request- but she knew they were there. With Isabella, too.

On her way past her office she had grabbed her phone and now dialled Jack's number. He answered on the third ring.

"Jack! It's Nicholas; he got out and I saw him go into your quarters-"

"I know. He's standing right in front- Isabella, no!"

The line went dead as the phone hit the floor and Lizzie ran that little bit faster.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

The wolf paused right in front of them and Isabella reached out a hand, completely unafraid, to pet it. Jack yelled and Ianto pulled her away at the same instant, scaring her and startling the wolf.

Strangely, the wolf still didn't attack as Jack expected it to. There must be more of Nicholas left inside it than they thought. It tilted its head to one side, as though puzzling something out in its mind, before leaning closer to sniff at Isabella.

The little girl moved to hide behind Ianto's legs, remembering how her Uncles had shouted and knowing now that she shouldn't get too near to the dog.

"Nicholas?" Ianto spoke softly to the wolf, hoping that their colleague could understand. The wolf's ears pricked up at the name. "You're scaring her. Back off."

Again the wolf studied them with a tilt of its head. It didn't back away, but it did sit down on its haunches. Ianto reached out a hand to Nicholas, in front of him where he could see it just as he had been taught by his mum, when approaching any animal. He felt his heart pounding as he waited for the feeling of teeth in his hand or the snarling of an angry wolf, but neither came. He touched his hand to the top of the wolf's head, feeling the thick fur under his fingers. If anything, the wolf seemed to enjoy it.

"Its okay, Isabella. He's friends, see?"

This time, encouraged by Ianto, no one shouted at her when she reached out to pet the doggy. She smiled and stroked his head, just between his ears.

Moments later, they all heard the sound of laboured breathing and footsteps approaching. Lizzie came to a skidding halt in the doorway, staring at the sight of Isabella petting Nicholas. She looked to Jack.

"Is anyone hurt?"

Jack shook his head. "No, we're fine. It seems that Isabella has adopted Nicholas as a pet, though."

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

When Gwen and Rhys arrived home two days later, Isabella racing over to be swept up into a hug, the others shared a look of solidarity. They had all agreed that mentioning Nicholas's wanderings and Isabella's involvement would only cause Gwen upset that she didn't need. After all, no harm had been done and it was all sorted now.

"Thank you," she asked Jack and Ianto. "Did you have any problems whilst I was gone?"

Jack shook his head. "Not really. She did make me wear a tiara, but I won't hold that against her."

Gwen just frowned and then shook off the mental image. Lifting her daughter into her arms, she asked, "Did you have fun with Uncle Ianto and Uncle Jack?"

Isabella nodded furiously, a wide smile on her face. "We went to the park and I went really really fast on the swings and we had ice cream and we watched Scooby Doo." She paused for a breath. "I played with the doggy, and-"

Gwen raised her eyebrow at the two men before asking the little girl, "What doggy, sweetie?"

Oblivious to the other three people's frantic motions for her to stop, Isabella continued. "Auntie Lizzie's. The big fluffy black one."

It took Gwen all of ten seconds to read between the lines and her eyes narrowed on the three of them. "Rhys? Could you please take Isabella for a moment. I have to strangle three employees and I'd rather she didn't see." She noticed Jack heading stealthily toward the door. "You three, stay right where you are."

As soon as Rhys and Isabella were out of the room, she turned to them with her hands on her hips, one foot tapping impatiently.

"Well?"

"It's not as bad as you're imagining…" Jack began.

x~x

End.

* * *

This is the last Old Town New fic for the moment, the end of my series 4. I may write more in this 'verse but it will likely be posted as separate stories, not part of this series.


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